Akari's Depression
by TheBlackKid
Summary: When Akari survives a near-death experience, she starts acting a way that gets the other girls worried. Everyone but Akari has a POV.
1. Near-Death Injury

Akari's Depression

By TheBlackKid

 **Chapter 1 – Near-Death Injury**

 **Chinastu's POV**

As the final school bell rang for the day, me and Akari made our ways to the clubroom. I almost went there by myself, because Akari didn't want to go. She said something about always being ignored wherever she goes, but I told her she was overreacting.

"But what about all those times I get marked absent when I'm sitting in clear view?" Akari asked me.

"You're overreacting." I said.

"But what about all those times I keep getting left behind whenever we go on class trips?"

"You're overreacting."

"What about that whole _Akarin!_ thing?"

"Okay, to be fair, you're the one who started that."

"Yeah, but…"

"Seriously, Akari. You're letting this 'no presence' thing get you paranoid over nothing. All those times were just accidents. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh, yeah? Then how come _**you**_ do it, Chinastu?"

"U-Uh…w-well…"

Okay yes, it's true. I've been ignoring Akari a lot lately. But unlike the other classmates, I have a perfectly good reason for it. In a few months, Yui and Kyouko will be going on to high school, and I've been using all this time to finally confess my love for Yui…even though she's somewhat aware of it. Not completely, though. Surprisingly, she's too dense to figure it out. Yet, she's supposed to be the smart one between the four of us. But I'm willing to put aside those flaws of her's. Soon, my life-long fantasy of Yui being my girlfriend will finally come true. That is, if Kyouko doesn't get in my way.

" _sigh._ It's okay, Chinastu. You don't have to explain it." Akari said, sounding a little depressed.

"W-Wait, Akari! Look, I'm sorry for ignoring you a lot lately, but I'm getting so close to confess to Yui." I explained.

"You've been saying that ever since we've met."

"I know, but love is complicated, Akari."

" _sigh._ Whatever you say, Chinastu." Akari said as she walked ahead of me, still sounding a little depressed.

 _Why do I feel like I just screwed up big time?_

* * *

I managed to catch up to Akari by the time we reached the clubroom. When we opened the door and went inside, we realized that Yui and Kyouko weren't there yet.

"Huh. They're not here yet." I said. "Want some tea, Akari?"

"Yeah, sure." Akari answered.

As Akari sat down at the table, I went to the mini kitchen to prepare the tea. Once that was done, I went to the main room and sat with Akari as we both drank our tea.

" _Ah._ Isn't this nice, Akari?

"Yeah…yeah it is, actually. Maybe you're right, Chinastu. Maybe I am getting paranoid over noth-

" **CHINASTU!** "

" _sigh._ Never mind."

Just then, Kyouko came barging into the room, breaking the door in the process, and came charging at me, squeezing me too tight as she kept cuddling me.

"Oh, I miss you, my little China-chan!" Kyouko yelled in my ear.

"Kyouko! Get off me! You're hurting my back!" I shouted while trying to push her off, but to no success. I honestly don't know why she does this to me and me only. It hurts like hell and it makes me fear Kyouko sometimes.

 _Hopefully, she comes here soon._

"Kyouko, get off her." A voice said. A voice that I've fallen in love with and pretty gotten addicted to.

 _There she is! My savior!_

Yui came into the room and tried to break Kyouko's grip from me.

"But Yui, she's so cute and cuddly and soft and smooth! I just want to squeeze her for all eternity!" Kyouko shouted.

"Y-Yui! H-Help me!" I was starting to lose my breath.

"Hold on, Chinastu. I'll get you out." Yui said.

She then placed her hands on each of our heads and attempted to pull us apart. Unlike me, Yui has a lot of upper body strength. So although it took a bit of effort, Yui was able to get Kyouko off me. Problem is, the force Yui gave while pushing Kyouko off was too strong, as she ended up slamming into this giant shelf we had in there, cluttered with a bunch of Kyouko's Mirakurun stuff.

"Oh no! My collection!" Kyouko panicked. She tried to stop it, but couldn't, and everything that was there fell to the floor. Some ended up hit us in the head.

"Ow!" Yui yelled. "Kyouko, I thought you were going to take this stuff home with you!"

"I was, but then something happened." Kyouko responded.

"And what was that _something_?"

"I forgot."

" _sigh._ "

"You're hopeless, Kyouko." I said as I got up from the floor. "Thanks for the help, Yui!"

I hugged Yui as tight as I could (which is a lot less power than Kyouko) as I showered her with my gratitude of love.

"Y-You're welcome, Chinastu. B-But can you let go of me, please?"

"Of course!" I let go of Yui and sat down on one of the cushions at the table. "You guys want some tea? Me and Akari were drinking some not too long ago."

"Sure, I can go for some tea."

"Huh? Akari's here?" Kyouko asked. "I didn't notice."

"You would if you weren't snuggling Chinastu so hard." Yui retorted.

"But my China-chan is so cuddly!"

"Quit calling me that!" I yelled at her. "Sorry about this, Akari."

"…"

"Akari?"

Akari was lying on the floor with her back facing towards us. She wasn't moving at all, and she was in a weird position.

"Did she fall asleep?" Kyouko asked.

"There's no way she could've slept through all that." Yui claimed.

"Hey, Akari. You okay?" I asked as I went up to her. I moved her body a little, and eventually I gained view of something I wish I didn't see.

" **AHHHHHHHHHHHH!** "

What I saw, was Akari laying limp, with a big sharp object piercing her left eye.

" **AKARI!** " I screamed in terror.

" **OH MY GOD, AKARI!** " Yui shouted.

" **OH CRAP! OH CRAP! OH CRAP!** " Kyouko began panicking.

We were all too horrified to move, but we knew that if don't do something, Akari might die from this. So Yui went over to Akari and placed two fingers on her neck.

"She still has a pulse! We've got to take her the school!" She yelled. "Chinastu! Grab one end of her! Kyouko! Call an ambulance!"

"Right!"

"Right!"

I grabbed one end of Akari's limp body while Yui grabbed the other. As we ran out the clubroom and headed for the school, Kyouko was on the phone with the emergency staff.

"Yes, hello? My friend! She got stabbed in the eye! She's bleeding everywhere! **PLEASE SEND HELP!** "

It didn't take long for an ambulance to show up at the school. They placed Akari on the stretcher and loaded her in the truck. As it drove off, the members of the student council showed up next to us.

"What the hell happened to Akari?!" Sakurako asked.

"She got stabbed in the eye by one of Kyouko's toys!" Yui answered.

" **KYOUKO!** I thought you took those home with you!" Ayano yelled at her.

" **I'M SORRY, OKAY! I FORGOT!** " Kyouko shouted.

"I'm going to meet her at the hospital!" I said.

"Wait, shouldn't you let Akane know?" Yui asked me.

"I'll call her on the way there!"

"I'm coming with you!" Sakurako said.

"Me too!" Himawari added.

"I'm worried about Akari!" Chitose said.

"Me too! I'll get Nishigaki to give us a ride!" Ayano said.

"Please hurry, Ayano!" Kyouko pleaded.

* * *

Nishigaki agreed to give us a ride to the hospital, and even Rise wanted to tag along. Once we got there, we met up with Akari's sister Akane, along with my sister Tomoko, and we told them what happened.

"A toy stabbed her in the eye?!" Akane shouted.

"How the hell did that happen?!" Tomoko asked.

"It was an accident, I swear! I didn't mean for Akari to get hurt!" Kyouko cried. From the look on her face, she really feels bad about this whole thing.

We waited there for hours while the doctors did surgery on Akari's eye.

The entire time we were there, we were worried of the possibilities that could happen from this. How would Akari handle this? If she survives, that is.

 _ ***Inaudible Whisper***_

"Yeah I hope so, too." Nishigaki said to Rise.

"Y'know, we wouldn't even be in this mess if Kyouko wasn't so damn hopeless." Sakurako grunted.

"I said I was sorry!" Kyouko yelled.

" **SORRY'S NOT GOING TO FIX AKARI! IF SHE DIES FROM THIS, IT'LL BE ALL YOUR FAULT!**

" **DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?! I ALREADY FEEL HORRIBLE FOR ALL THIS AND I DON'T NEED YOU TO MAKE IT WORSE!** "

"Guys, please calm down! We should be arguing at a time like this!" Ayano shouted.

"Ayano's right." Chitose said. "We should be hoping for Akari's recovery, not ruining our friendship."

"Right. Sorry." Both girls said.

We waited for another hour until one of the doctors came in the waiting room, sighing as he took his mask off.

"Well how is she, doctor?" Akane asked.

"You'll be good to know that the operation was a complete success." He said.

" **YAY!** " We all cheered and celebrated the fact that Akari survived through it all.

"Although, we did had to do some…modifications."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Tomoko asked.

"Well, she's awake now. You all can see for yourselves."

 _Oh geez. I hope it's not too bad._

The doctor took us through the hospital to the room where they left Akari in. As we stood outside the door, he said one last thing to us.

"Just so you know, we didn't tell her what we did to her yet. So please keep your reactions to a minimum."

We all agreed to what the doctor said and he opened the door, letting us inside the room. When we went inside and saw Akari laying on the bed, we were happy to see her alive…but then saw the modification the doctor was talking about. Needless to say, we were horrified at what we were looking at.

 _Oh god! Akari! What did they do to you?!_

"Oh. Hey, everyone. I didn't think you all would come." Akari said with weak voice while wearing a weak smile. Which is understandable, since she just came out of surgery.

"H-Hey, Akari. How're you feeling?" I asked.

"Well…I do have a headache."

"Yeah, you sometimes get those once you get out of surgery." Yui said.

"I guess. But…for some reason…I can't open my left eye."

We all went dead silent after hearing that. We didn't know how (or if) we should tell Akari what happened to her.

"Miss Akaza. As you know, the surgery was a success." The doctor said. "But…we did had to make a few…changes."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I'll go get a mirror and show you."

As the doctor looked for a mirror, Akane went by her sister's side and held her hand tight.

"Sis, what did they do to me?" Akari asked.

"W-Well…" Was all Akane was able to say.

"Okay…here it is." The doctor said as he held up the mirror to Akari's face. When she took a look at it, she nearly broke into tears.

"Wha…"

"What…the?"

" **WHAT HAPPENED TO MY EYE?!** "

Akari looked at her reflection…to see that she only had one eye. The spot where her left eye used to be was replaced with a giant red scar patched up by stitches.

"Well, Miss Akaza. When you were brought here, we only had a few minutes to save you. Your eye bled so much that filled up a good part of your head. It was deemed unfixable. So we had no choice but to remove your eye."

"Oh, god…" Was all Akari was able to say after he explained everything.

"A-Akari…" I said, feeling worried for my best friend.

"Hey, Chinastu. I think we should let Akari rest a little." Tomoko said to me with her hand on my shoulder.

"Your sister's right, Chinastu." Yui added. "She did have a long day."

I honestly didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay and make Akari feel somewhat better about all this. I knew I didn't really have a choice.

"O-Okay." I said. "B-Bye, Akari."

"Goodbye…everyone." Akari said, sounding more depressed than she did this afternoon.

* * *

After everyone had gone home (except Akane, who stayed with Akari), I had taken a shower and gotten into bed. But…I couldn't sleep. How could I? When I saw my best friend nearly die from getting stabbed in the eye, and then having said eye removed, so she's stuck with only having one eye. I hated myself. I didn't cause the injury, but it's still my fault for forcing Akari for coming to the clubroom when she didn't want to in the first place. I felt horrible that I was basically part of ruining Akari's life.

I continued to stare at my bedroom ceiling rummaging through the thoughts that were swarming in my head. I soon felt tears running down my face as I tried to close my eyes and sleep.

 _Some friend I am._

 **A/N: A brand new Yuru Yuri story. And this one's tamer than the other ones. I actually had this idea for a while. And was looking for a right time to start working on it. Luckily, I found time by taking a break from this other story I was working on. So this one will get some more focus as time goes on.**

 **That's all I have to say. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. I'll be working on this plus another one at the same time, and will be updating them at them same time, as well. So it might take a while for the next chapter to be uploaded. But until then, thanks for reading.**


	2. Comforting a Friend

**Chapter 2 – Comforting a Friend**

 **Yui's POV**

It's been two days since Akari's injury and we just heard that she's been discharged from the hospital. So I asked Chinastu and Kyouko if they wanted to come with me to Akari's house to visit her. Chinastu agreed with no hesitation. Kyouko on the other hand, took a bit of convincing. Not because she didn't want to see Akari, it was more so the opposite.

"You think Akari hates you?" I asked.

"Why wouldn't she, Yui?! It's my fault that she only has one eye now! She totally hates me!" Kyouko cried.

"Come on, Kyouko. It's not entirely your fault." Chinastu said.

"What do you mean?"

"Akari didn't even want to go to the clubroom that day, but I pretty much forced her to. I'm to blame for this, as well."

"Stop it, you two!" I yelled. "What happened to Akari is tragic, I know. But we shouldn't be beating ourselves because of it. Akari wouldn't like that."

"Yeah. You're right, Yui." Chinastu said.

"B-But…but…"

"Kyouko, everything's going to be fine. I'm sure Akari still wants to be friends with you."

"…"

"…O-Okay, Yui. If you say so." Kyouko said, still sounding a bit uneasy. I was happy that I was able to convince them that everything's okay, but at the same time, I felt bad for pretty much lying to them in a way.

I haven't brought this up to anyone yet, but I myself was starting to have doubts of Akari being okay. It started when were leaving the hospital. I forgot my jacket in Akari's room and I went back to get. Akane did let me in and I went to grab it, but as I did, I took a glance of Akari's newly redone face. She looked depressed as hell. To us, Akari's known for being happy and cheerful all the time. But to see her with a look of sadness and despair…it was the most disturbing thing I've ever seen in my life. The image still haunts my memories. Since then, I've kept it to myself, never bringing it up during the two days we went to school. I can only hope that Akari's feeling somewhat better today.

* * *

The three of us arrived at Akari's house and knocked on the door to have her sister Akane answer it.

"Oh hello, you three. Here to check-up on Akari?" She asked.

"Yes, we are. How's she holding up?" I asked.

"She's been improving a little. Although her eyesight did drop dramatically. She's constantly bumping into walls and stuff."

"Oh. Poor Akari." Chinastu said. "You don't help her?"

"I try to, but she keeps pushing me away, saying that she can handle it herself. She says it with a smile, too. But it looks…off."

 _Oh no. She's starting to hide it now._

"You girls can come in. I'm sure she'll be happy to see her friends checking-up on her."

"Thank you. Pardon the intrusion." We all said as we entered the house.

We took our shoes off and headed upstairs to Akari's room, knocking on the door gently and waited to a response.

"Yeah?" We heard her voice on the other side and I opened the door slowly.

"Hey, Akari." We all said.

"Oh. Hey, guys. I didn't think you'll come to see m- **WAAAH!** "

 ***THUD***

"Akari!"

Akari was trying to get off her bed, but misjudged how close she was to the edge, and ended up rolling off.

"Ow."

"You okay, Akari?" Chinastu asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not the first time today I've done that."

"You've done this more than once?" I asked.

"Well, I've gotta use the bathroom, don't I?"

"Yeah, but rolling off the bed to do so is not safe at all."

"It doesn't hurt…that much."

"Akari…" Chinastu sounded worried.

"Guys, I'm fine. Really, I am. Just because I only have one eye now doesn't mean anything. Sure, I fall off the bed every time I try to get out of it. And I've ran into almost every wall and piece of furniture in the house. And when I was coming home from the hospital, everyone kept starring at me with looks of discomfort. But I'm fine. Really…I am."

I wasn't sure about the others, but I can tell she was faking being okay with this. Losing your eye is not something you can just push to the side and be okay with like normal. And she knows it, but I bet she's covering it up just so we wouldn't blame ourselves.

 _Geez, Akari. This selfless trait of yours is hurting you more than it's helping us._

Throughout the whole ordeal, I didn't hear Kyouko say anything since we got here. She must have those thoughts from earlier still in her head. And seeing Akari falling off the bed and claiming that she's used to it, plus the other problems she listed, she must be going insane with guilt.

"H-Hey, A-Akari…" She suddenly spoke.

"Yeah, Kyouko? What's up?"

"B-Be honest with me…"

Kyouko went silent for a second as she dropped her head down. I can tell she was shaking in fear. She did a nervous sigh and brought her head back up the face Akari and asked:

"…D-Do you…h-h-hate me?"

"Kyouko!" I yelled.

"No, Yui! I need to know this! This guilt is eating me alive! And it's gonna continue to do so unless I get some kind of closer!"

I went silent after hearing that. I've never seen Kyouko be so serious with anything that's not anime or food. It honestly took me by surprise.

"Do I hate you? Of course not." Akari answered.

"Y-You don't?!" Kyouko sounded surprised.

 _Was she expecting the opposite?_

"No. Why would I hate you?"

"Akari, it was _**my**_ toy that stabbed you in the eye."

"Yeah, true. But it wasn't your fault."

"See, Kyouko? You're just overreacting." I said.

"Yeah. Because in a way, I blame myself."

"What?" The three of us asked.

"Well when you think about it, it really is my fault. All those times I was ignored, forgotten, and left behind…you know how they say the weak are the first to die off? Well, I think the injury is the universe's way of saying _take a hint._ And I'm okay with that."

I nearly cried after hearing that. Those words, coming out of Akari's mouth. I was starting to believe that I was in some kind of nightmare. This is not the Akari I grew up with. She's clearly hurting, but her selflessness is making her stubborn to admit it.

"A-Akari…" I stuttered.

Just then, we heard a knock at the door, and it opened to reveal Akane at the other side.

"Hey, I made snacks for you girls if you want them." She said. "I just need help carrying them over here."

"Sure, Sis. I'll help you." Akari said, as she was trying to get off the bed.

"N-No wait, Akari! I'll help Akane. You just sit here and rest." I said.

"You sure, Yui?"

"Yeah, Akari. Let Yui do it." Chinastu added. "Besides, us three can talk about whatever comes to mind, right Kyouko?"

"Yep! Anything you want!" Kyouko agreed.

 _It looks like they caught on to what I was trying to do. Thanks, you guys._

"Well…okay then." Akari finally settled.

"It won't take long at all. I'll be back." I said as I walked out the room with Akane.

* * *

When we both got to the kitchen, the snacks Akane made were sitting on the counter. But as I tried to grab one of the trays, Akane grabbed me by the hand and said:

"You notice it too, huh?"

It didn't take long for me to figure out what she was talking about. Akane let go of my hand and I turned around to face her.

"Yeah, I did." I said.

"I don't know what to do, Yui. She's been like that ever since coming out of surgery. I don't have the slightest idea how to help someone with depression. I've read books and articles and tips online, but none were much help. I'm scared, Yui. What if Akari eventually becomes…"

"Listen, Akane." I interrupted. "Don't think such stuff. After talking Akari today, I admit I'm having the same worries. But we can't just give up. First, we need to get Akari to admit she's depressed. Then we'll go from there."

"But how? Her selflessness is making her too stubborn to accept it."

"Yeah, that's true."

To be honest, I didn't think that far. Just like Akane, I have no idea how to help someone with depression. I might have to do some research to get at least some understanding of it.

"Well, until we think of something, we'll just have to keep showing Akari that we care for her." Akane said.

"Yeah. That seems like the only option we have right now." I said.

"But let's not be gloomy about it. Akari will notice and will probably make her feel worse. Just don't tell her we had this conversation, okay?"

"Sure, Akane. You're secret's safe with me." I said with a smile.

As we both grabbed a tray from the table in front of us and made our way to the stairs, we heard a noise coming from upstairs.

 ***THUD***

"Ow." Akari wined.

"Akari, you okay?" I heard Chinastu say.

"I'm fine. Really, I am. I'm just going to the bathroom."

"At least let one of us hold your hand. You're gonna get tons of bruises if you keep running into walls like that." Kyouko said.

"Guys, I'm telling you I'm fi-

 ***THUD***

"Ow."

 _This is going to be harder than I thought._

 **A/N: Here's chapter 2 of the story for you guys. Just so you know, I did some thinking about how long this story is going to be. Since every main character is getting a POV, there's going to be 10 chapters. (Rise and Nishigaki will count as one. Someone's got to translate for Rise.) Might do more after that, but I can't promise it.**

 **That's all I have to say. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Just a reminder, this and another story I'm working on will be updated at the same time. So it may take a while for the next part to show up. Until then, thanks for reading.**


	3. Quitting a Hobby

**Chapter 3 – Quitting a Hobby**

 **Kyouko's POV**

I haven't really slept much since Akari's injury three days ago. The image of her blood red eye leaking all over the floor while she laid there unconscious still haunts my memories. And what's making it worse is that I'm the one who caused it. I was supposed to take those toys home ages ago, but due to my idiotic brain cells, they were left there time and time again…and caused Akari to lose an eye.

"An eye… **AN EYE! ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS LOST AN EYE BECAUSE OF ME!** " I suddenly yelled to no one while laying on my bed in my room.

 _I really am hopeless._

I looked at the clock next to my bed and it read 10:52am. I've only gotten about 6 hours of sleep today. As my mind has been swarming with thoughts most of the night.

The cause of these thoughts were the crap ton of anime figurines surrounding my room. Most of them had two things in common. Number 1 was that they all had something to do with Mirakurun. The other thing was…they all had sharp, pointy objects somewhere on them. Whether it was a weapon or a hat or an accessory, they all looked painfully sharp. I don't think I could handle having someone else losing a body part, or even worse their life, because of my stupid hobby.

It was right then and there I decided on something. Something I thought I would never do, but after what happened to Akari, I can't take any chances.

I went down to the basement of my house and grabbed an empty box sitting next to one of the boilers. I then brought it upstairs to my room and closed the door behind me. After setting the box down on my bed, I grabbed every last toy I saw and threw it in the box. Some were limited editions and extremely rare, but I didn't care. Everything went in there. While I was grabbing the last toy, I noticed the piles of doujinshi on my desk that I work on. As I starred at them, another thought came to mind.

 _If I keep making these, it's just gonna remind me of the toys. Then I'll end up buying them again and the whole cycle will no doubt continue. I'm getting rid of these, too!_

I grabbed all the doujinshi on the desk and stuffed them in the box. After doing that, I looked around my room, which it's walls had a bunch of posters and stickers all over. The same feeling from before came up again, and this time I knew what I had to do.

"You know what? Screw it! These things are coming down, too! I'm quitting this whole thing! This so-called hobby of mine nearly killed my friend! I'm not going to partake in this thing anymore!"

I stood on my bed and took down all the posters and stickers that were it, then grabbed a stool and took down the rest. Once that was done, I grabbed my scissors and began cutting every last one of them to pieces.

As I was doing that, I felt a ton of stress just release from my body. It felt so good! So good, that I grabbed the doujinshi from the box, **my** doujinshi that I've spent **months** working on, and even got the others to help me with, and cut them all into little bite-sized pieces.

But it didn't stop there. The stress reliever was so good! I couldn't get enough of it! I needed more stress to come out! And knew **exactly** how to do it!

I went back downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed the hammer from the toolbox. I ran back upstairs to my room, closed the door behind me, and starred at the box filled with my anime toys. I then proceeded to smash every last one of them, one by one, with the hammer. Obliterating them to smithereens. It felt so good! Like I was on some kind of high-inducing drug! I've never felt so excited before in my life! Knowing that my friends will be safe once all of this murderous crap was destroyed…made me the happiest person in the world!

It also made me tired, and I ended up falling asleep on my bed.

* * *

After a few hours, I woke up to the sound of a knock on my bedroom door.

"Hey, Kyouko? You okay? I heard noises earlier." It was my mom, coming to check up on me.

"Uh, yeah, Mom. Everything's fine." I said.

"W-Woah! S-Sweetie, what happened to the toys you had stacked all over?"

"Destroyed them." I said nonchalantly.

"And the posters and stickers?"

"Destroyed them."

"And that pile of drawings you've spent months working on?"

"All destroyed."

Mom kept starring at me with a look of pure worriedness. Like she's starting to believe that I've gone insane out of nowhere. But then she let out a small sigh as she came towards me and wrapped me in a long hug so tight that I could barely breath.

 _So I guess this is what Chinastu feels every time I hug her, huh?_

"Mom…what is this?" I asked.

"Sweetie…is this about your friend suffering that injury?"

"H-How'd you know?"

"Kyouko, I'm pretty sure most of your friends have told you this already, but it's not your fault this happened."

" **BUT IT IS MY FAULT, MOM!** " I started crying. " **IT WAS MY TOY THAT STABBED AKARI IN THE EYE! MY TOY THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE HOME MONTHS AGO, BUT LEFT IT ON THAT SHELF BECAUSE OF MY SELFISH SCATTERBRAINED SELF!** "

I stopped talking for a bit and let my tears flow down my face as I tried to calm down a little.

"And now, because of me…Akari only has one eye. And is going through severe depression because of it."

"Depression?"

"Yeah. I went to her house with Yui and Chinastu yesterday. She was falling off the bed and bumping into walls, and she said something that really scared me."

"Well, what did she say?"

"She said that the injury was the universe's way of saying _take a hint._ " Those words still make me shiver inside.

"O-Oh. Wow. Th-That's…dark." Mom was just as disturbed as I was when I first heard that.

"I'm scarred, Mom! What if Akari decides to kill herself over this?! I don't know what I'll do if that happens! I'll be known as the girl who drove her friend to suicide!"

"Kyouko, please! Calm down! Now you're starting to scare me!"

I listened to Mom and took a couple of deep breaths to calm my nerves.

"S-Sorry, Mom." I apologized.

"Good. Now, if you feel so guilty about this whole thing then why don't you apologized to her?"

"I did. Multiple times. She accepted them all…"

"See, you have nothing to worry about."

"…but then said that it's her fault this happened."

"Oh."

"Mom…I don't know what to do. I'm so scared."

Mom wrapped herself around me again and gave me another hug.

"Honey, it sounds like you need someone to talk to." She said.

"Y-You mean like a shrink?"

"Something like that."

I was unsure about this at first. But I was so terrified, my body was shaking and my eyes were all red and puffy that I could barely see out of them. I needed help, more than what my friends, my mom, and myself can give me right now.

"O-Okay, Mom. I'll go." I said.

"You're doing the right thing, Kyouko." Mom said while petting my long messed-up hair. "How's about you lay back down into bed and I'll bring you something to eat? I'll schedule an appointment afterwards."

"Thanks, Mom."

I got back into bed and Mom left my room to get something for me to eat.

As I laid there, relieving myself of my tears, I kept getting lost in my own thoughts. The thoughts weren't as frantic as before, but they still gave me a sad feeling.

They were about how many of us classmates have treated Akari this past year. Ignored, left behind, even so much as being called invisible. It all made me feel bad. But what made me feel worse was the fact that I did those **exact** things to her as well.

The more I thought about how I treated one of my best friends, scratch that, one of my childhood friends, the more I felt like crap. I honestly couldn't believe I've been treating Akari like that for so long, and no one bothered to stop me. Or…maybe they did, but I was too much of an idiot to noticed, let alone listen.

But no more! No more will I be my annoying, selfish, ungrateful self! I'm going to this therapist person and I'll become a brand-new Kyouko. One who actually cares about her friends and their feelings. I will change!

 _So that everyone can forget what a jerk I used to be._

 **A/N: Chapter 3, done and ready to read. I apologize for this taking a bit longer than usual. I was chatting with someone on the site and we ended up trading ideas for a new story. Not for Yuru Yuri, but it's something really interesting (for those who ever heard of the Puyo Puyo series).**

 **That's all I have to say. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Just a reminder, this story and the other one I'm currently working will be updated at the same time. So the next part might take a while to be released. Until then, thanks for reading.**


	4. Student Council Distraction

**Chapter 4 – Student Council Distraction**

 **Ayano's POV**

"S-Seriously?! Kyouko's in therapy?!"

"That's what she told me. I was shocked too when I heard that."

It was Monday morning at school and I was wondering why Kyouko hasn't shown up yet. When I asked Yui what happened, I was surprised to hear her response.

"You sure it isn't another one of her plots to skip school?" I asked.

"I thought that as well, but when I went over to her house this morning to ask her mom, she just gave me this note that Kyouko wrote."

Yui handed me the note and I began reading it aloud.

" _Dearest friends,_

 _It took me a lot of guts to say this, but…_

 _ **I AM A JERK!**_

 _ **AN ANNOYING SELFISH UNGRATEFUL & HOPELESS JERK!**_

 _I know you all have been telling me this from the very beginning, but was too much of a blonde idiot to even listen for a few damn seconds! I wish it didn't take Akari permanently losing an eye for me to notice, but that's what you expect from someone like me huh? Well, not anymore! I plan to rid myself of this horrible personality of mine and become a better person! Not just for me, but so that everyone can be safe from my deadly forgetfulness._

 _Signed,_

 _Kyouko._

"W-Woah. Th-that's deep." I said in shocked. "Totally not like Kyouko."

"Yeah. I nearly cried after reading that." Yui said.

"Kyouko must be feeling real remorseful for her to willingly go to therapy." Chitose said.

"It's actually shocking." Chizuru added. "For once, I actually care about her."

"How long did she say she'll be gone?" I asked.

"She said she'll be going everyday this week. After that, it'll be every other day." Yui explained.

" _sigh._ Great, now we have two friends to worry about."

"Speaking of which, how's Akari doing?" Chitose asked.

"She's…well…improving…physically." Yui stuttered.

"What do you mean _physically_?" Chizuru asked.

"Well…from the outside, the only thing wrong with her is that she's constantly bumping into walls and stuff, but inside's a lot worse. She's hiding the fact that she's depressed about the whole thing, but her selflessness is making her blame herself for everything. She even said that what happened to her was the universe's way of telling her to go kill herself."

" **WHAT?!** " The rest of us yelled.

"And that she's okay with it."

" **THE HELL?!** " We yelled again.

"I already talked to Akane about it and she's noticed it, too. Though she haven't found anything that could help."

"Holy crap…" I said, stunned out of my mind.

"The fact that it's **Akari** saying this is…unreal." Chitose added, just as stunned as me.

Chizuru didn't say anything, but I could tell from her face that she couldn't believe what she was hearing either.

"Well, where is she? Did she come to school?" I asked.

"She's here, but it took me and Chinastu a ton of convincing to have Akari let us walk her here." Yui replied.

"Oh, dear." Chitose said.

"Are you three going to the clubroom?" I asked again.

"No. It's been blocked off from the school once we told the teachers we weren't an official club."

"Well, you guys can stop by the student council room if you want. We could use the help."

"Yeah, but Ayano, I'm more worried about Akari than the student council work." Chitose wined.

To be honest, I was too. But If I don't get this paperwork out the way, then I won't hear the end of it.

"You sure we won't be a bother?" Yui asked.

"Not at all. In fact, the only person that will be a bother is…"

I stopped for a moment and did a small facepalm on my head. It didn't take long for the others to quickly realize what I was about to say.

"Right…" We all said.

It was then that we remembered that the only _bother_ we knew was going to be gone for a week.

 _I don't think I can get used to this._

* * *

After all our classes have ended, I went straight to the student council room as I normally do. Chitose came with me and we opened the door to see what we usually see every time we come here:

Sakurako and Himawari arguing over nothing.

" **GAH! YOU'RE SO USELESS, SAKURAKO! WHY IS IT THAT YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING AROUND HERE?!** "

" **WELL, I WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THINGS IF YOUR BOOBS WEREN'T IN THE WAY!** "

" **MY BOOBS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!** "

" **OF COURSE** _ **YOU**_ **SAY THAT, BOOB MONSTER!** "

Yep. Totally over nothing.

"Hey, Chitose. Just how exactly are these two in love with each other?" I whispered to her.

"You just don't see it, Ayano." Chitose whispered back. "I've got 20/20 lesbo vision. It's never failed me once."

"That's because you read too much Yuri manga."

"Not just manga, Ayano. I also watch a ton of lesbian porn every day. It gets me off every time."

 _Why is that the two people I care about the most are perverts?_

I shook my head trying to get the image of Chitose masturbating to lesbian porn out of my mind and yelled out to the other two girls in the room.

"Hey! Sakurako! Himawari!"

The two looked over to see who called their names and were surprised to see me.

"O-Oh hey, Ayano. N-Nice day isn't it?" Himawari stuttered.

"W-We _totally_ weren't fighting just now." Sakurako stuttered with her. "R-Right, Himawari?"

"Y-Yep! _Totally_ not fighting."

" _Heheheheheh._ " They both did a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah. Sure." I'm pretty sure they know that I don't believe them. "Anyway, you two better be on your best behaver! The Amusement Club members are going to be staying with us for a while."

"Really? How come?" Himawari asked.

"Their own clubroom got blocked off because of the accident. Now no one can use it." Chitose explained.

"I see. That's too bad."

"But do they really have to come here?! I'm still mad at Kyouko for what happened to Akari!" Sakurako wined.

"Well, you don't have to see here, at least for a week. She's doing therapy." I said.

" **TH-THERAPY?! KYOUKO?!** " They both shouted.

"That's what I said."

"Geez, I never would thought Kyouko of all people would go to therapy…she must really feel bad about what happened." Himawari said.

"Yeah well, I'm still mad at her." Sakurako said.

Just then, we heard a loud band against the door, followed by a bunch of smaller bangs like someone was trying to find the entrance to something.

"Akari, just let me open the door." We then heard Yui's voice from the other side.

"No, wait! Hold on! I think I got it!" Akari said.

"You just past it like 5 times already." Chinastu said before opening the door herself.

"But I was close, right?"

"Y-Yeah. S-Sure, Akari." Yui said.

"Hey, Akari. Welcome back." Chitose greeted her as the trio walked in the room.

"Thanks, Chitose. Glad to be back." Akari said.

"You doing okay since then?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's been great."

"No it hasn't." The other three younger girls said.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"When I brought Akari to class this morning, people kept starring at her with looks of disgust." Chinastu said.

"They were talking crap about her right in front of her face!" Sakurako yelled.

"And Akari kept denying it all, just like she is now."

"I kept telling you guys I'm fine." Akari wined.

"Akari, you were crying from your one eye." Chinastu claimed. "I sit next to you, I saw it."

"W-Well…I had something in my eye."

" _Akari…_ " We all said.

" **Okay, fine alright! It did hurt! But they didn't even noticed me back when I had two eyes! What they're saying might be total crap, but at least they're paying attention to me for once!** "

Akari was crying full tears from her eye at this point. The tears themselves looked more powerful than normal due to being only one tear duct.

"All I wanted was for people to stop ignoring me. Now I'm getting attention, but it's the kind nobody wants! So now my life is worse than before, _**and**_ I lost an eye! Why does the world hate me?! What did I do to deserve this?! **WAAAAAAA!** "

I watched as Akari cried as hard as she could from her eye as Chinastu gave her a hug as a way to cheer her up. What she said…it almost made me cry myself. It's true that only hang out with her whenever Kyouko's around, but I've never seen her so miserable before in my time knowing her. I'm starting to believe that Yui was right, and that Akari really is going through severe depression.

"Hey, guys. I'm just gonna take Akari home now." Chinastu said. "She's had a long day."

"Yeah, I think it's best too." Yui said.

"Bye, Akari." Chitose, Sakurako, and Himawari said while waving.

Akari didn't say anything but did wave back as Chinastu guided her out the room. Once they were gone, slumped back in my chair in a sorrow state.

"Man, that was hard to listen to." I said.

"I know, and it just keeps getting worse." Yui added.

"Isn't there something we can do?!" Sakurako asked. "I hate seeing Akari like this!"

"But what can we do? None of us know anything about depression and how to deal with it." Himawari said.

"Well…her birthday is coming up…" Yui claimed.

"Her birthday? Oh yeah, next week's July isn't it?" I asked.

"Hey, let's throw Akari a huge birthday party!" Chitose suggested. "That ought to cheer her up!"

"Yeah, but who knows how long that happiness would last? Especially with the condition Akari's in." Yui said in sorrow.

"Then we'll just have to make it one that Akari will never forget!" Sakurako said with a fist in the air.

"That almost sounds like a threat…" Himawari said.

"W-Well, you know what I mean!"

"Actually, I think Sakurako's on to something." I said.

"See? Ayano gets it!"

"Really, how?" Yui asked.

"If we can throw a party for Akari, showing her that we care for her and life can get better, it may cheer her up. Maybe even getting her out of her depressed state."

"You mean like an intervention?" Chitose asked.

"No, nothing like those. They never work."

"Yeah, Ayano's right. They only make things worse." Himawari added.

"So, what do guys think?"

"Hmm. That could work." Yui thought. "We should keep it a surprise for Akari, but not act suspicious at all. It'll only make her feel worse about herself."

"Right!" The rest of us said.

" Let's meet back here tomorrow and start planning. I'll let Chinastu know and convince her not to tell Akari."

"Right. See you guys tomorrow then." I said.

* * *

After everyone left the room (including me), I began spacing out on it came to this. One of my friends depressed over losing an eye and another in therapy because she's the one who caused it. It was all getting too much for someone like me too handle. With me being constantly busy with student council work and everything.

That when my phone begun vibrating in my pocket. I checked to see who it was and was really happy reading the message.

 _First day of therapy complete! Sorry I didn't tell you before, Ayano. I just really want to become a better person. But don't worry! Once that happens, I'll make sure you're the first to know! See you soon!_

I chucked after reading the message and placed the phone back in my pocket.

 _Get well soon, Toshino Kyouko._

 **A/N: Chapter 4 complete! Sorry it took longer than usual. The best way to explain is when you own the only computer in the house, your family tends to borrow it a lot. And it sometimes dies on them too, so there's that wait time as well.**

 **That's all I have to say. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Just another reminder, this and a second story I'm currently working on will be updated at the same time. So there's going to be a wait for the next part. Hopefully not as long as this, though. Until then, thanks for reading.**


	5. Akari's Anthrophobia Part 1

**Chapter 5 – Akari's Anthrophobia Part 1**

 _(Anthrophobia - The fear of other people)_

 **Chitose's POV**

The rest of the week didn't get any better for Akari. From what I heard, Chinastu got sick after taking Akari home that one day, and the responsibility of guiding her around was given to Sakurako. But due to her… _not so great_ memory, Sakurako kept leaving Akari behind, causing her to bump into many walls and desks. She even fell down a small flight of stairs at one point, causing everyone that was in the area to laugh at her. And thus, the bullying increased. And Akari hasn't come to school in 4 days.

I was extremely worried about her. I missed the old, always happy Akari. The one who would hand me tissues whenever I was having one of my fantasies.

 _Now that I think about it, with Kyouko gone, I've been having a lot less yuri fantasies with her and Ayano making love to each other. I haven't gotten off in days, either. I hope Kyouko comes back soon._

I was walking around the shopping district doing a couple errands for my grandmother when I was having that last thought. And because of that, I bumped into someone with a black hoodie over their head, causing the both of us to fall to the floor.

"I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention." I said.

"No, it's oka- huh? Chitose?"

I recognized that voice, but it sounded scratchier than how it normally sounded.

"Akari?" I asked as I helped her up off the floor. "Why are you wearing that hoodie over your head? It's hot out."

"Because…I don't' want people to stare at me and call me a freak!"

"What? Come on, Akari. No one's going to call you a freak."

"Ha! Freak!" Said a little boy who was passing by.

" **WAAAAH!** See?!" Akari begun to cry.

" **Hey! Keep walking, you little brat!** " I yelled.

The boy stuck out his tongue out and ran off.

"W-Wow, Chitose. That the first time I've heard you yell."

"Yeah. I don't do it often." I said after calming down a bit. "Speaking of which, what happened to your voice?"

"W-Well…" Akari was still crying from earlier, and having to explain what happened to her voice made her cry some more.

"…w-when I fell down the stairs at school, and everyone laughed and bullied me for it, I ran home crying and stayed in my room, continuing to cry for days. I only came out here to get some throat medicine, because I cried so much that my voice cracked."

I felt horrible for Akari and what she's been though. The fact that for the past 4 days she's locked herself in her room and cried non-stop because of the constant bullying for her only having one eye was pure heartbreaking for me. And she was going to go back home and do it **AGAIN!** I couldn't let her do that! I had to think of something, but what?

Then at the last second, something came to me.

"H-Hey, Akari! I'm just about finished with these errands, how's about we go do something together to cheer you up a bit?"

"Uh…I don't know…"

"Come on, please? We could make a date out of it."

"Ch-Chitose…I don't swing that way…" Akari was blushing a little from what I said.

"Really? You don't?"

"W-Well…maybe. I don't know. I-I've never given it any thought."

"I see."

 _I guess she wouldn't when people were ignoring and now bullying her._

"Then let's think of it as just two friends hanging out."

"Even if you say that, I'm still not sure if I can do it. I don't know what people would say or do to me once I, a one-eyed girl, shows up."

Unfortunately, Akari was right. Society can be brutal to people who are physically different from everyone. Hence why the constant bullying has made her into a hermit in her own room, terrified of what people think of her now. Convincing her to stay outside with me isn't going to be easy, but I have to try. For my friend's wellness.

"Well, we could try…"

" **HEY! CHITOSE!** "

Around that time, Sakurako had called out my name and was heading towards me. Despite knowing it was her, Akari hid herself deeper inside her hoodie.

"Oh. Hello, Sakurako. What brings you here?" I greeted her.

"Uh, well…I forgot. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't important anyway."

 _If she's saying that, then it must be important…_

"Hey, who's this guy in the hoodie?" She asked.

"Uh, well…"

"H-Hey…S-Sakurako…" Akari stuttered with her cracked voice.

" **W-Wait, A-Akari?! Is that you?! Holy crap! What happened to your voice?!** "

"It cracked due to the amount of crying I've been doing lately."

"Is that why you've been out of school these past four days?"

Akari did small nod suggesting yes.

"Akari…I'm sorry for forgetting to guide you around. It's my fault your voice ended up like that. Please let me make it up to you!"

 _Wow. I've never seen Sakurako so caring about someone else before._

"It's okay, Sakurako. I accept your apology, but I really don't to be out here. I rather stay hidden from the world. The only thing I'm good at, apparently."

" **That's a load of crap! You're way more special than that!** "

"She's right, Akari." I added.

"Sp-Special? M-Me?"

" **Yep! And I'm going to prove it to you! Let's go!** "

"W-Wait! Y-You mean now?! H-Hold on a sec- **WAH!** "

But it was too late to back out now (like she had a chance, anyway). Sakurako had grabbed Akari's hand and was now dragging her down the shopping district to the nearest exit. Akari held her hood down with the free hand she had, hiding her face from the public.

" **Sakurako! Wait for me!** " I yelled while chasing after them as fast as I could possibly run. Which wasn't much. I felt like I had to go with them to make sure Sakurako didn't do anything crazy with Akari.

 _Sorry, Grandma. These errands are gonna have to wait._

 **A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. Decided near the end to make Chitose's POV and Sakurako's POV relate to each other, with the latter's being more detailed. Hope you guys understand.**

 **Also, I should bring this up now. I'm currently working on 4 stories now. So the wait time might be a bit longer now. Again, hope you guys understand.**

 **Still feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading.**


	6. Akari's Anthrophobia Part 2

**Chapter 6 – Akari's Anthrophobia Part 2**

 **Sakurako's POV**

I have to be honest. I screwed up…big time. I did something so idiotic, so stupid, so regrettably moronic, that I think it's going to ruin my friendship with not only Akari, but with everyone else too.

I know, me feeling guilty for something I did isn't normal of me at all. But in order to understand why I feel this way, we have to go back a bit. Around the time I ran into her and Chitose at the shopping district.

" _It's okay, Sakurako. I accept your apology, but I really don't to be out here. I rather stay hidden from the world. The only thing I'm good at, apparently._ "

" _ **That's a load of crap! You're way more special than that!**_ "

" _She's right, Akari._ "

" _Sp-Special? M-Me?_ "

" _ **Yep! And I'm going to prove it to you! Let's go!**_ "

" _W-Wait! Y-You mean now?! H-Hold on a sec-_ _ **WAH!**_ "

" _ **Sakurako! Wait for me!**_ "

I remember that moment clear as day…mainly because it happened nearly a week ago. But that's besides the point. The important part of that was that I felt extremely happy to be with Akari for some reason. I mean, Chitose was there too. She did ended up following us…despite getting left behind a couple times. Either I'm faster than I thought or Chitose's really bad at running.

 **GAH! There I go getting distracted again! Explains so much why I'm failing my classes.**

Anyway, even with Chitose being there, I didn't feel the same excitement with her as with Akari. And I didn't know why, either. All I knew was, I had to make Akari just as happy as I was. And I wasn't going to stop until that became a reality!

* * *

"Sakurako, please slow down! Where are you taking me anyway?!" Akari asked as she was being dragged around the neighborhood.

" **HERE WE ARE!** " I shouted. We were standing in front the one place that could make anyone happy. Even Akari with her depression.

"The arcade?"

"Yep! This oughta cheer you up a little!"

"But…"

" _ ***HUFF***_ _I…I-made it! I_ _ ***HUFF***_ _c-caught up!_ _ **YAAAAAaaaaa…**_ "

Just then, Chitose managed to catch up to us. Although she looked exhausted as hell.

"Chitose…you okay? You look like you're about to pass out."

" _D-Don't_ _ ***HUFF***_ _w…worry…Sa-Sakurako. I-I'm f-f-fine. H-Hey, w…what are we_ _ ***HUFF***_ _d…doing at the_ _ ***HUFF***_ _ar-arcade?_ "

 _She's clearly not fine. But I'm pretty sure she not gonna go home either. So might as well tell her what I'm doing._

"I gonna try to cheer Akari up a little!"

" _O-Oh, r…really? Th-That's_ _ ***HUFF***_ _n-nice of y…you, Sa-_ _ ***HUFF***_ _Sakurako…_ "

"You sure you don't need any water?"

" _I-I'm p…p…positive._ "

Chitose then walked over the nearest seat in the arcade and collapsed on top of it.

" _I'm just gonna ta…ta…_ _ **taaaaaa…**_ "

 _ ***SNOOZE***_

 _S-She fell asleep…_

"A-Anyway, Akari…I'm gonna help you regain your confidence!"

"That's really nice of you, Sakurako. But like I said, I don't want to be out here. People are just going to stare and say horrible things about me like I'm some sort of monstrosity."

"So what if they do? They're just stuck up pricks that don't like anything different!"

"And they have a mean way of showing it, too."

"Well, if they do have anything to say, I'll kick their ass right then and there! Nobody's going to bully my friend!"

Akari didn't respond and was just starring at me with total shock. I saw tears running down her eye, making me think she was going to cry again. But then she said something that caught me off guard.

" _S-Sakurako…Th-Thank you._ "

For some reason, what she said, and how she said it…it made my heart beat like crazy. I was blushing so hard, people could mistake my head for a tomato. I've never felt this way before.

 _G-Geez, is this what Ayano feels like when she talks to Kyouko?_

"Uh…n-no problem, Akari. Th-That's what friends are for."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm really glad to have you as a friend then."

"Y-Yeah…me too."

We both then went inside the arcade, pass the row of chairs where Chitose fell asleep on, and went to have fun with each other…

…as _friends_.

* * *

 **Okay, I can't keep this ruse up anymore!** I have to be honest with something! Yes, it's a truth in the middle of a truth. It's my story, I can explain it however I want! So shut up and listen!

You see, the truth on top of the truth is…that I'm in love with Akari. And it's not _**all of a sudden**_ either. I've been in love with her since we met during the first day of school. Sure, we became friends, but I wanted to confess my love to her since that day, but I was too scared to do so. So I've sat back and watched, watched as Akari kept getting ignored, forgotten, left behind, and now bullied. I hate myself for not doing anything about it before. And I completely blame myself for it. Well okay, some of it I blame Himawari, but most of it's my fault.

I'm sure you already know this, but Himawari and I knew each other when we were younger. But then something happened between us and now we're…how you say, _rivals_ , in a way.

With us two constantly bickering at each other, I've haven't been spending time with Akari much. That's the part where I blame Himawari for. I seriously don't get how people think we're in love with each other. The only thing I want from Himawari are her ginormous boobs!

Anyway, when Akari suffered that injury a couple of days ago, I figured that it'll be my chance to get closer to her. I even had the chance to walk her home after school for a couple of days when Chinastu got sick. But thanks to my scatterbrained memory, I ended up forgetting and…well you know what happened after that.

So this time, I'm going to screw up! I already failed Akari twice, and I'm **NOT** going to let it happen again!

* * *

"So what game do you want to play first, Akari?" I asked.

"Well…I'm not sure. I'm not really good with arcade games, or any games for that matter."

"It's okay. You're looking at the master of games right here! I can teach you any game you want!"

"Really? Thanks, Sakurako. Uh…how about this one?" Akari pointed out to the first game she managed to see with her one eye.

"Tetris, huh? This game's fun. You have to connect these blocks called Tetronimoes into a line to make them disappear. If you fill up the board, it's game over."

"Th-That sounds…kinda difficult. For me, at least."

"O-Oh, right. Let's look for another game then."

We looked around for a game that Akari could play even with her one eye. I eventually found one and showed it to Akari.

"Mario Kart Arcade GP? Wait, Mario Kart has an arcade game?" Akari asked.

"Yeah. You didn't know?"

"Not at all. The last time I played Mario Kart was on the DS."

"It came out the same year as DS."

"Really?! How come I didn't notice?!"

"Don't worry about it too much. We can play it together."

"Okay then."

We each sat at one machine and started the game. I was player 1, I choose the settings and whatnot until we got to the character selection screen. I picked Mario while Akari went with Luigi.

 _Coincidence? I think not._

Eventually, we started the race and to my surprise, Akari was really good. We were neck 'n neck the whole race and she actually beat me by a few milliseconds.

"Wow, Akari! You're really good!" I cheered.

"Thanks, Sakurako! You're really good, too!"

I felt my heart beat just as fast as before. Akari praising me really made me feel good inside.

"Y-You want to go another round?" I asked.

"Sure, let's g-

"Hey, squirts! Get off! We want to play!"

Suddenly, we heard voice coming from behind us. It belonged to some boy and his friend. They both looked like they were in high school, judging from their height and how deep their voices were.

"What?! Why the hell should we?! There's two more machines right there!" I yelled.

" **I said GET OFF! We want to use** _ **these**_ **machines!** "

" **Yeah, so get lost!** " The other boy said.

"Or…We could stay here and play the game while you two can go screw yourselves! Sounds like a good idea to me!"

" **GRRR! YOU DAMN BRAT! IF YOU WON'T GET OFF WILLINGLY, THEN WE'LL DRAG YOU BOTH OFF!** "

Then one of the boys grabbed Akari by her hoodie and proceeded to pull her off. Akari tried to hold her grip with one hand one the wheel and the other holding on to her hoodie, but she lost the grip on the steering wheel and was yanked off. Her hoodie fell over in the process, reveling her face.

" **Yo, dude! Check out this freak!** " The first boy said.

" **Whoa! This chick only has one eye!** " Replied the second boy. " **What a freak of nature!** "

Everyone in the near area then begun to stare at Akari with looks of disgust.

" _I…I…_ _ **I'm not a freak!**_ " Akari yelled while having tears running down her eye.

" _ **Aw…is the little monstrosity of a girl gonna cry?**_ " One of the boys teased.

" **Look, you ugly brat! Why don't you go back underground where you belong and stay with the other freaks down there!** "

" **Or better yet, why don't you just kill yourself already! Society will be better off without your crappy face roaming around! HAHAHAHAHA!** "

Akari was crying full tears at this point. Seeing first hand how she's been bullied these last few days made me feel sick to my stomach. It also made me pissed as hell! No one should treat other people like this! I was going to make these two pay for making my Akari cry!

I walked over to one of the boys filled with rage and stood in front of him.

"What, you're ready to start respe- **GAAAAAAAAH!** "

Before the boy could finish his sentence, I kicked him in the one place no guy wants to be kicked at. Really, really, hard.

" **SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP!** " I shouted while the boy slumped down the floor, holding his privates in pain. I starred at the other boy and he ran away like the little wimp he really was. I then grabbed Akari's hand and I dragged her away from the scene and away from people in general.

* * *

I decided to take Akari home, the one place she wanted to be in the first place, but I _**had**_ to drag her around the damn neighborhood.

 _Way to go, me! I screwed up AGAIN! And this time I made Akari get bullied and cry in public! There's no way she'll forgive me for this! It's all over!_

"Uh…H-Hey…S-Sakurako." I heard Akari say my name while I was guiding her home.

"Y-Yeah, Akari?"

"I-I-I just want to say…th-thank you…for sticking up for me back there."

"O-Oh, that? Th-That was just nothing. I was only doing what a friend would normally do in a situation like that."

"Still, That's the first time I've ever heard you curse like that."

"Y-Yeah. I-I don't do that often." I said with a blush of embarrassment on my cheeks.

"Don't be embarrassed. That outburst recused me in a way, so it's fine."

"O-Okay…if you say so."

About 10 minutes later, we were approaching Akari's house we were standing in front of the front door. Akari was about to go inside, when I grabbed her hand without hesitation.

"Akari…I just…I just want to say…I'm sorry. For dragging you out here when you didn't want to. I'm such a horrible friend!"

"It's okay, Sakurako. I had fun today. Really, I did. Even if _that_ part happened."

"Y-You did?"

"Yes. I did. You're a really good friend, Sakurako."

 _There's that word again. It hurts every time she says it, but I have to deal with it. I…have…to…deal…with…it!_

"Well goodnight, Sakurako. See you around."

" **WAIT, AKARI!** " I suddenly shouted out of the blue.

"Wh-What?! What is it?!"

I starred at Akari's face with my cheeks flushed red with nervousness. I wrapped my arms around her to bring her closer to me as I continued to stare down into her eye.

And then, I did the unthinkable…

…I kissed her.

It was a long and passionate kiss on the lips. Well, to me it was. I felt so horrible for Akari. After everything she's been through: being ignored, forgotten, left behind…and then she lost an eye and now she faces constantly bullying every damn day, to the point where she hides in her room and cries all day! And here I am assaulting her lips like they belong to me! **I truly am a horrible friend!**

I eventually pulled away from Akari and starred at her face again, this time with tears running down my own face as I try to not break down in front of her.

"Akari…I'm sorry, but… **I love you!** I've always loved you! Ever since the day we've met! I know I've chosen the _**WORST**_ possible moment to confess my love for you, but I just couldn't take it anymore! I can't stand to see you so unhappy! I can understand if you don't want to be friends anymore because of this, but please just know this…

…I will always love you, Akari!"

Those were my final words before I turned around and ran off away from Akari and her home.

" **SAKURAKO, WAIT!** " I heard Akari yell out.

But I didn't stop. I didn't turn back. I didn't answer. I just kept running away from the girl I just confessed to. All while crying heavy tears of despair and sadness all the way home.

 _I screwed up big time._

 **A/N: Here's chapter 6 ready to read. I hope this makes up for chapter 5 being so short. Going to be taking a short break from this story. Working on four stories at once is starting to get to me, so I'm going to be sticking with one for a while. But I'll be back to finish this one soon. Until then, feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading.**


	7. Double Secret Feelings

**Chapter 7 – Double Secret Feelings**

 **Himawari's POV**

"Okay. So what should we have for Akari's birthday party?" Yui asked as we sat in the student council room. We had gathered together to start planning for Akari's birthday party, with things that might cheer her up a bit.

"How about we take her out for a birthday dinner?" Ayano asked.

"A-Actually, Ayano…that won't work…like at all." Chitose said.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well, because a couple days ago, I ran into Akari at the shopping district."

"You saw Akari?!" Chinastu asked.

"What was she doing there?" Yui asked.

"Picking up throat medicine."

"Throat medicine?" I asked. We were pretty confused on why Akari came out of her house after **DAYS** of being M.I.A just for that.

"She said that she's been crying so much since she fell down the stairs that day at school, that her voice cracked. And she came outside to get some. She was wearing a black hoodie over her head because she now has a fear of other people."

"N-No way…" Ayano said.

"So now Akari's depressed _**AND**_ an anthrophobic?" I asked.

"Damn it! My best friend just keeps getting more miserable and I don't know how to help! **I'm such a horrible friend! WAAAAAHH!** " Chinastu started crying because she still blames herself a little for what Akari's been through lately.

"Chinastu, stop saying that! You're not a horrible friend! None of us are!" Yui said.

"Yui's right." Chitose agreed. "We really shouldn't be blaming anyone for this. What we need to do is help our friend the best that we can."

"Yeah, what Chitose said."

What Chitose just said must've worked. Because Chinastu stopped crying and wiped her tears from her face. Although she still looked a little upset.

"Th-Thanks, y-you g-guys." She said, stuttering because of the recent crying.

"Now does anyone have any other ideas?"

"Well, if going outside is not an option, then why don't we just stay at her house?" I suggested.

"You mean like a sleepover?" Chitose asked.

"Well…maybe. Do you _want_ to make it a sleepover?"

"Well, I…"

" **I WANT TO MAKE IT A SLEEPOVER! I WANNA BE WITH AKARI AND COMFORT HER AND LET HER KNOW THAT THE WORLD CAN SUCK IT!** " Chinastu suddenly shouted out of nowhere. When she finished, she was completely out of breath.

"Chinastu. Calm down." Yui said.

 _I guess she's still blaming herself._

"I don't know…I've never been to Akari's house before." Ayano said. "What's her sister like?"

"She's…caring. A bit too much sometimes, but she's caring."

"What do you mean _a bit too much sometimes_?"

"L-Look, Ayano. That's not important right now. Are you coming or not?"

"Alright, fine. I'll come and stay over." Ayano looked like she still had doubts, especially since Yui dodged her question about Akari's older sister.

"I'll come too." Chitose added. "I want to help Akari feel better in any way I can."

"Great! Thanks, Chitose! You're coming too, right Himawari?" Yui asked me.

"Uh, well…I'll have to make sure my little sister will be okay, first."

"Fair enough. So then everyone's coming, right?"

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Yep."

"I'll pass."

These words came from Sakurako, who hasn't said a word before this point in time. We were all shocked at what was basically the only thing she's said all day.

" **Huh?! Why the hell not, Sakurako?!** " Chinastu asked, sounding a little pissed.

"I'm just not in the mood."

" **Not in the mood?! Throwing a party for Akari was YOUR idea!** " I yelled at her.

" **Well, you can do it without me! I'm too busy with something!** "

" **Too busy?! Too busy with what?! You don't do anything whether it's here with student council work or at home with your homework!** "

"Uh, guys…" Yui tried to intervene, but neither one of us heard her.

" **I'm just busy, okay?! Lay off!** "

" **Lay off?! How the hell can I when you're basically just bailing on Akari! You're always too damn selfish and always thinking about yourself only! Some friend you are!** "

" **I'M NOT BAILING ON AKARI! I'M JUST AS WORRIED AS THE REST OF YOU!** "

" **IF YOU'RE SO WORRIED, THEN HOW COME YOU REFUSING TO SHOW UP AND HELP HER?! SOUNDS LIKE A CRAPPY FRIEND TO ME!** "

"Guys…" Yui tried again to intervene, but it was the same outcome.

" **IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!** "

" **THEN WHAT, SAKURAKO?! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE YOUR EXCUSE THIS TIME?!** "

" **BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE HER!** "

The room went silent after we all heard what Sakurako just said.

"Wh-What?" I asked, breaking the silence.

" **I said I love Akari! I'm madly in love with her! It's been that way since the day we met! There! Are you happy now, Himawari?!** " Sakurako had full tears running down her eyes. She was actually crying. I haven't seen her cry since we were kids.

 _Damn. She must've really wanted to keep that a secret from us, huh? I feel horrible for forcing it out of her like that._

"S-Sakurako…I had no idea you felt this way for Akari." Chinastu said.

"And you weren't suppose to know. But thanks to Boob-chan the instigator over there, I didn't have a choice."

 _I going to let the "Boob-chan" thing slide this time._

"Look, Sakurako. I'm sorry for making you admit your love for Akari, but your feelings for her shouldn't be an excuse to help cure her of her depression."

"And her anthrophobia." Chitose added.

"Right. And her anthrophobia."

"W-Well…it kinda might."

"How?" Yui asked.

Sakurako started blushing (another rare sight for me) as she looked down to the floor. She twirled her two index fingers together and had a look of embarrassment on her face.

"W-Well…y-you see, I-I kinda…

…

…a-already told Akari."

…

…

" **YOU DID WHAT?!** " Four of us yelled.

" **I'm sorry, okay?!** I ran into her and Chitose at the shopping district and I took Akari to the arcade when she said she just wanted to go home. We were having fun until these two high school boys came along. They bullied Akari until she cried, and I kicked one of them in the balls."

Yui and Ayano then started snickering, in an attempt to hold in their laughter.

"Seriously, you two?" Chinastu retorted.

"S-Sorry." Yui said.

"P-Please c-continue, S-Sakurako." Ayano said.

They were doing a bad job at it.

"Anyway, it was when I brought her home that I confessed to her. And I haven't seen her since."

"I see. So that's the problem. Well, you're going to have to see Akari sooner or later." I said.

"I know, but…when I told her, I ran off and didn't even wait for a response. I have no idea if she feels the same way, or even swings that way."

"She doesn't know either." Chitose claimed.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Just before Sakurako showed up, I asked her if she did or not and she said that she never gave it any thought."

"Yeah, that sounds like something Akari would say." Chinastu said.

"So, in hind sight, Sakurako, you still have a chance."

…

"…Y-Yeah, I guess I do." Sakurako said with a faint blush on her face.

"So does that mean you're coming along with us?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah, s-sure, wh-whatever. I-I just want to see Akari."

"Great. So that makes six of us then." Yui said.

"Six of us for what?" A voice said as the door slid open. When we saw who that voice belong to, we were mildly surprised.

" **K-Kyouko?! Y-You're back?!** " Ayano stuttered.

"Yeah, I just got back late last night. I spent most of the morning sleeping."

"I see. Well it's good to have you back."

"Thanks, Ayano…but I think Chitose's more glad than everyone else here."

Kyouko then pointed to Chitose, who was bleeding from her nose uncontrollably with a somewhat perverted look on her face.

" **God damnit, Chitose!** " Ayano yelled as she grabbed a tissue pack from her pocket and gave it to her.

"Thank you, Ayano-sama. _Hahahahaha!_ " Chitose said, while wiping her nose. Ayano then facepalmed herself, embarrassed of how perverted her best friend is."

"So what's going on here?" Kyouko asked.

"We were planning a party to celebrate Akari's birthday in hopes of cheering her up." Yui explained.

"We just decided on a sleepover at her house." Chinastu added.

"Her birthday? Isn't that 2 weeks from now?"

"You can never be too early, Kyouko." Yui said.

"Yeah, I guess."

"So are you coming to the sleepover with us?"

Kyouko then started blushing while twirling her index fingers, much like Sakurako did before.

"Y-Yeah, s-sure, wh-whatever. I-I just want to see Akari." She even gave the same response.

"Great! So that's all seven of us!"

" **YES! NOW WE CAN ALL SHOWER AKARI WITH APPRECIATION AND VALUE FOR HER LIFE AND COMFORT HER TOGETHER!** " Chinastu shouted.

 _Still blaming herself._

"Seriously, Chinastu. You need to act mature about this." Yui told her.

" _Mature_? This is coming from the girl who nearly laughed her socks off when Sakurako said balls."

Yui and Ayano were once again trying to hold in their laughter.

"Seriously? Again?"

"Y-You j-just d-don't g-get i-it, Ch-Chinastu." Ayano stuttered.

"I get it, it's just not funny."

"It's rather immature." I added.

"I'm surprised that you two find that funny." Kyouko said.

" **This, coming from you?!** " both girls shouted.

* * *

After Yui and Ayano eventually calmed down, we ended the meeting and decided to go home. I was just about to leave the school building when I felt a tug on my uniform sleeve. I turned my head around to see Kyouko standing next to me.

"H-Hey, Himawari. C-Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh…sure, Kyouko. What's up?"

"W-Well…it's about what happened earlier."

" _What happened earlier?_ "

"You know? With how Sakurako told you guys that she's in love with Akari…"

"Oh, yeah… **WAIT YOU HEARD THAT?!** "

"Yeah. Truth is, I showed up around that time. And when Sakurako confessed, I stayed outside and listened."

"I see. So what's wrong?"

"W-Well…" Kyouko started blushing again, with her cheeks redder than last time.

"Y-You promise to keep this a secret?"

"A secret? What, is it **THAT** big of a problem?"

"W-Well, I wouldn't call it a problem. But just promise me you won't tell anyone."

I gave this request some major thought. She said she doesn't consider it a problem, but how would I know if she's right if I don't earn her trust? If she's willing to tell me whatever it is instead of Yui and Ayano, then it must be really important to her.

"Okay, Kyouko. I promise I won't tell anyone." I said.

"Th-Thanks, Himawari. You're a really good friend." Kyouko replied with a small smile.

"So, what's the matter? Why did Sakurako's love confession for Akari upset you so much?"

"W-Well…b-because…

…

…

…

…b-because I'm also…m-madly in love with Akari."

I stood there frozen in shock. I saw Kyouko waving her hand in front of my eyes while calling my name. After a few more seconds, I finally managed to say something.

" **WH-WHAT?! HOW?! WHEN?! IS THIS A JOKE?!** "

"No, it's not a joke! This is how I truly feel! **I LOVE AKARI!** "

I covered her mouth and brought her head down a little with my own.

"Keep it down! Do you want the whole school to know your secret?!" I whispered.

"R-Right. Sorry."

" _sigh._ But seriously, Kyouko. When did you start feeling this way for Akari?"

"You know how I was in therapy this past week?"

"Yeah."

"Well, my therapist explained to me that my reaction to Akari's injury was far greater than when any of the other's got hurt. She then went on and said that the experience of thinking that she was going to die because of me…made me realize my true feelings for her."

"W-Wow." Was all I could say.

"And since then, I've been trying to think of ways to confess to her."

" **W-Wait, you still want to confess?!** **What about Sakurako?!** "

" **I don't care about her confession! I want Akari all to myself! I want her to be mine and for me to be hers!** "

"Okay, I get it. But why tell me?"

"Because to be honest, you seem like the normal one in our group of friends."

 _The normal one, huh? I'll take that as a compliment._

"More normal than Yui?"

"Trust me. Yui has her fair share of problems. As you saw before with that "joke" earlier."

"Oh yeah. Right."

 _Ha! Sorry, Yui! I'm more normal than you!_

"So, you'll keep this talk between us?"

"Sure, Kyouko. Your secrets safe with me."

" **Yay!** Thanks again, Himawari!" Kyouko cheered as she gave me a hug. "Well, see you tomorrow."

"See ya, Kyouko." I said as she ran ahead of me, exiting the school building.

As I made my way home, I started thinking of the stuff that happened today, and I just got myself into. I just found out that both Sakurako and Kyouko are in love with Akari. And Kyouko wants me to keep her feelings a secret from everyone else. This isn't something that a normal girl like me usually deals with, but I didn't really care.

 _Because for better or worse, this is going to be interesting._

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I was so distracted with my other stories that I didn't realize that it's been two weeks the last chapter. But now I'm going to be working on this one for a while. Get to chapter 10 and then who knows after that.**

 **Been looking at the stats for this story and was shocked at how so many of you guys like it. The total number of views total to almost 850, which is an extra 400 from Neglected Presence. Thank you guys for taking interest in this story. I'll continue with the rest and maybe a follow up to this. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks again for reading.**


	8. Game & Kaede

**Chapter 8 – Game & Kaede**

 **Chizuru's POV**

I haven't really been doing much as of late. Jute sitting around at home reading a book I've gained interest in. But Sis has been rather busy, though. More than usual. And we haven't spend that much time together because of it.

Today was no different. I was laying on my bed in the room we share, reading the book I mentioned earlier, when I heard the door open, and Sis walked in the room.

"Oh. Hey, Chizuru. I didn't think you'd be home."

"Hey, Sis. You look tired."

"Yeah. Student council work has been brutal lately. What with us going to high school next month."

"Yeah, true. But hasn't Ayano giving you guys breaks?"

"Yeah, but they don't last long. And even with Yui, Chinastu, and Kyouko helping us, it's still a lot of work."

"Kyouko?" I sounded confused.

"Oh yeah. Kyouko came back from therapy a few days ago."

"I see…"

In case you didn't know, I have this small beef with Kyouko. And by small, I mean big, and by beef, I mean that I absolutely hate her. Yes, the whole thing's one sided, but it still counts. Ever since that day at the library, she's been a total pain to deal with. Sure, she thought I was Chitose, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that she kept bugging me while I was trying to read. And not only that, she didn't even have the nerve to apologize. I seriously can't stand her…but I did feel bad for her when she decided to go to therapy.

"I bet Kyouko's making it harder for you guys, huh?" I asked.

"You would think, but no. Kyouko's been working just as hard as the rest of us."

"Hold on. Kyouko? Working? Are we talking about the same girl, Sis?"

"Yes we are, Chizuru. I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true. And not only that, she's actually been doing schoolwork without any problems."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. Even the teachers are having a hard time believing it. She's getting close to being top of the class."

 _This is getting more unbelievable by the minute._

"It's like she's become a whole new person after doing some therapy."

"Some?"

"She's still going back. Every other day."

"I see."

Geez. If what Sis is saying is true, that Kyouko has really become a whole new person…then maybe I could _try_ to forgive her for annoying me so much. Emphasis on the word "try".

"Well…good for her, I guess." I said.

"Yeah. Plus we've been busy getting gifts and stuff for Akari's birthday."

"Akari's birthday?"

"Yeah, we all decided to go to her place and have a sleepover party there, although she doesn't know that. She hasn't been doing so well since losing her eye. She's become super depressed and just recently an anthrophobic."

"A what?"

"It means she has a fear of other people now."

"A fear? Of other people? I didn't even know that was possible."

"Neither did I until I googled it."

"Huh. So what are you guys getting?"

"Birthday decorations, some food and drinks, a cake, and a gift from each of us."

"I see."

I haven't really thought of Akari since Sis told me about her injury. I don't really know her that well, but I still consider her as a friend. I knew about her depression, but not her anthrophobia. I been wanting to do something to cheer her up, but like I said, I don't her that well. I don't know what her likes are, and now because of her anthrophobia, I think it's too late to ask.

 _But I can still try, right?_

I then close the book I was reading and got off my bed, heading for the bedroom door.

"Where you're going, Chizuru?" Sis asked me.

"I…I'm going to see if I can get Akari a birthday gift."

"Really? That's real nice of you, Chizuru."

"So, um…do you know what she likes? I would ask her myself, but I think it's too late for that."

"Well…I'm pretty sure she likes everything, so there would be very few bad gifts…how about a stuffed animal?"

"A stuffed animal?"

"Yeah. Chinastu told me that she has a ton of then in her room."

"I see. Thanks for the advice, Sis."

"No problem, Chizuru. See you later."

I waved Sis goodbye as I exited the bedroom and eventually out of the house entirely.

* * *

Later that morning, I reached the middle of town looking for ways to get a stuffed animal for Akari. I tried straight up buying one, but I didn't think they were so expensive. I only had a few yen with me and I won't get more until next month. So now I have to think of an easier way to get one.

As I continued my search for said easier way, I could've sworn I was hearing my name being called, but this part of town tends to be real loud, so I couldn't tell. But the voice that was calling it got louder, and I eventually felt a tug on my shirt.

"Hey, Chizuru. Didn't you hear me call you?"

"Oh. Sorry, Kaede. I couldn't hear you."

"Yeah, that's understandable. This part of town does get really loud at times."

"Yeah, true."

Kaede is a little girl that I became friends with one day. I saw her in the park one day and we started talking about how I needed to be brave and start making friends on my own. Since then, we hand out from time to time. But it wasn't until just recently that I found out that she's Himawari's little sister. Looking at the two of them now, I can totally see the resemblance.

"So what are you doing out here today?" Kaede asked.

"I'm trying to get Akari a birthday present."

"Akari? You mean the girl with the red hair who's also Sis's friend?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"I didn't know you two were friends."

"Well, I don't know her that much, but I still consider her as one."

"Oh. Well that's nice. Good for you, Chizuru."

It's not often that I get praised for anything by anyone besides Sis, so when Kaede did it, I grew a small smile on my face.

"Thanks, Kaede." I said.

"Speaking of Akari, is it true that she had her eye removed?"

"Yeah. And I've heard she's gotten depressed about it. And due to the bullying she's been getting, she now has a fear of other people."

"You mean she's an anthrophobic?"

 _How does she know what it is and I didn't?_

"Yeah, that."

"I see. That's sounds horrible. I hope Akari feels better soon."

"Well, Sis told me that they're having a sleepover party at her house to try to cheer her up. Each of them are even getting her a gift."

"Ah, I see. So that's why you're out here. What do you plan on getting her?"

"Sis said I should get her a stuffed animal, but buying one is too expensive, so I have to think of another way of getting one."

"Well, how about winning one at the arcade?"

"The arcade?"

"Sure. They had a ton of stuffed animals there. All you gotta do is get a high score on one of the games."

"But I'm not really good at arcade games."

"Don't worry, Chizuru. I'm really good at them. I could help you."

 _Just how talented is this 5-year-old?_

"Thanks a lot, Kaede." I said.

"No problem, Chizuru. And if I get lucky, I could get one to give to Akari as well."

"I see. That's real nice of you, Kaede."

Kaede smile greatly because of the praise I just gave her. But you expect that from a girl her age.

"Alright, let's go." Kaede said.

"Yeah, sure." I replied.

The both of us then made our way to the arcade, which wasn't really that far from where we were at, to hopefully win a present for Akari.

* * *

About 10 minutes later, we reached the arcade and the first thing we noticed is how empty it was, which was strange. Usually, this place is packed. But I guess it's a slow day today.

"It's surprisingly empty today." I said.

"Yeah. But the less people here, the less challenging it'll be to win Akari a stuffed animal." Kaede said.

"Yeah, true."

We were about to go inside when I noticed a girl standing outside. She looked nervous as she tried to hide under her dark grey hoodie jacket. Before she covered herself, I managed to get a good look at her. She almost looked like…

"Akari?"

I gained the girl's attention as she turned to face us. It really was Akari.

"Oh hey, Chizuru. Didn't expect to see you here." She said, clearly sounding miserable.

"Yeah. Same here."

"So who's your friend? She kinda looks like Himawari."

"That's because she's Himawari's little sister. Her name's Kaede."

"Oh. I see. Well nice to meet you, Kaede."

"It's nice to meet you too, Akari." Kaede said. "I've actually heard a lot about you."

"You have?"

"Yeah, with how you lost your eye and the constant bullying you're getting because of it. Sis told me about it."

"Oh. I see." It looked like Akari got sadder when being reminded of that. I guess Kaede noticed it too, because she started panicking while flailing her hands rapidly.

"W-Wait, I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to bring that up!" She said.

"No, it's okay. _Those thoughts never left my mind, anyway. They haunt my memories, continuously eradicating my soul of any happiness whatsoever. I feel like my old self has died inside me. Now I'm forced to live in fear and sadness, never experiencing true happiness ever again for as long as I live. If I even live long, that is._ "

Me and Kaede just stood there in pure shock after hearing that depressing soliloquy Akari just made. Haunted by the memories of endless bullying, her old self dying inside her, never finding happiness again, there was even a hint of suicide. I rarely cry nowadays, but after hearing… _ **that**_ , I almost felt like doing so.

But luckily, I stopped myself from doing it. Keeping my streak intact.

"S-Sorry you had to hear that. Once I start thinking of those memories, I can't really control myself. _Then again, they are my true feelings at this point._ "

"A-Akari…" Was all I could muster up.

"S-Sorry. I did it again. I'm just gonna go home. _Before I drag you both into a life of despair with me._ "

But before Akari could even start walking, Kaede grabbed her hand and held it tight. I was about to say something, but I noticed she had tears running down her eyes.

" **Akari! Please stop saying those scary things! This isn't like you! This isn't the REAL you! I know that this is total hell for you, but it's not over! Not by a long shot! You can be happy again! We're all trying to help you! So please, let us help you!** "

…

…

I've never seen Kaede act like this before. She was in full tears, almost like someone had hurt her. I mean, you'd expect her to cry like this, seeing how she's just a 5-year-old. But this was a total shock for me.

 _I don't think even Himawari has seen her sister cry._

"R-Really…? I-Is that really true…?" Akari asked, looking just as shocked as me. Maybe more.

Kaede turned to me still with the sad, scared looked in her face like she was trying to say, _"Help me out here!"_ or something.

"…O-Of course it is, Akari! Everyone's doing their best to help cheer you up. They really miss your old, cheery, always positive self. And they're doing everything they can to make you feel that way again."

"I-I see…"

Then, without any hesitation, Akari removed her hood from her head, revealing her one-eyed face. With said eye pouring out tears, which looked strong due to only having one tear duct.

"Th-Thank you, you guys. I feel like this was the encouragement I needed. I had no idea everyone was trying so hard to help me cure my depression. Now I feel really bad for being such a shut in this whole time."

"You can't really blame yourself for that." I said. "It's a common symptom."

"Huh. Well, still thanks anyway."

As Akari grew a smile for the first time since who knows how long, I noticed something else different about her.

"Hey, Akari. Didn't you had two hair buns on the sides of your head?"

"Yeah, but I got rid of them. At first, it was just to fit my hood over my head, but now I think I like my hair this way."

"I see."

"Well, you look cute that way, Akari." Kaede said after calming down a bit.

"Th-thanks, Kaede!" Akari started blushing a little.

"So what were doing standing outside the arcade?"

"W-Well…to be honest, I have no idea. I got a call at my house saying I should come back for some reason."

"I see."

"What about you two? I didn't think you were into arcade games, Chizuru."

"Uh…well…"

 _Do I tell her that I'm trying to get her a stuffed animal for her birthday? Or do I keep it a secret?_

…

… _I'll just won't mention the party._

"Actually, I came here to get you a birthday present."

"A birthday present? For me?"

"I'm trying to get a stuffed animal. I've would've bought one, but they're too expensive right now."

"But then I told her about how you could win one here if you get a high score on one of the games." Kaede added.

"Wow, that's some promo."

"Yeah. And was going to help Chizuru with it. You wanna tag along? You could pick your present when we get it."

"Sure."

* * *

With Akari with us, we finally went inside the arcade and looked around to see which game would be easy enough to get top score on. It took us a while, but we finally settled on a game to try.

That game was…

"Space Harrier?" I asked.

"You've never heard of this game, Chizuru?" Kaede asked me.

"It's really fun." Akari added.

"You mean both of you have played this game? Isn't it like 30-years-old?"

"33, to be exact." Kaede said.

"How did you guys play a 33-year-old game before?"

"It got remade on the PlayStation 2." Akari said.

"I see. Is it really fun?"

"You'll see." Kaede said as she inserted a token into the machine and begun playing.

The game itself looked…kinda insane. There was this guy on a jet pack shooting beams at a bunch of weird creatures. Some weren't even organisms. Spaceships, black orbs, giant floating stone heads…there was even a two-headed dragon skeleton you had to beat.

 _Were the people who made this on drugs or something?_

After a while, Kaede finally got a game over, and didn't have any more tokens to continue.

"Well that's it." She said.

That's when a siren went off on the machine and the words " **NEW HIGH SCORE!** " came on the screen.

"Wow, Kaede! You actually got a high score!" I said.

"See, Chizuru? I told you I could get one."

 _This girl is just of mystery._

"Congratulations! You got a high score! Come pick out your prize!" One of the workers showed up delivering us this message.

"Great! Come pick out your present, Akari!"

"Akari?" The worker asked.

"Y-Yeah…th-that's me…" Akari had hidden underneath her hood again just so the worker wouldn't notice her missing eye.

"Ah, yes. I was just handed your name. My boss wanted to apologize for how those two boys treated you and your friend the other day. He wanted me to give you this in hopes of showing how much he appreciates you coming here all the time."

The worker then handed Akari a tiny envelope. When Akari opened it, she grew a surprised smile on her face."

"A-A lifetime pass?! A-Are you sure it's okay for me to have this?!"

"It's a gift from the staff. In fact, one of us actually gave the idea of giving you one. She even said she knew you. You do know Matsumoto, right?"

"Huh?! Rise works here?!" Me and Akari asked in shock. We didn't think Rise would have a job since nobody can hear her. Well, except one person, that is.

"Great! So you do know her! So just think of this as her idea. We hope you'll come back soon."

"Th-Thanks! I will!"

As the worker went back to work, the thee of us headed towards the prize counter and looked at the stuffed animals that were available.

"So I guess you don't need the stuffed animal then, huh Akari?" I asked.

"Huh? Well…I don't want to be greedy…and besides, coming out of my room after so long is already a great enough gift."

"Come on, Akari. It's your birthday coming up. You're suppose to be greedy." Kaede said.

"Well…okay, I'll get one."

Akari looked all around the counter to find a stuffed animal she liked. It didn't take her long, but when she picked it out, me and Kaede were a bit skeptical.

"Uh, Akari…you want **THAT** one?" I asked.

"Yep! Isn't he cute?"

"But that's not even an animal. It's just Kirby in an Animal suit." Kaede said.

"Well it's close enough, right? And besides, he's just too cute in this thing. And he even talks!" Akari then pressed the button on the Kirby doll's right arm.

 _Hiiiiii!_

" **SO CUTE!** " Akari squealed.

Me and Kaede looked at each other and started laughing.

"Whatever you say, Akari." We both said.

* * *

After that, Akari went on home and Kaede went to go play at the park. I had nothing else to do, so I went back home. When I got back, I saw Sis laying on her bed, looking like she was in another one of her fantasies. Surprisingly, said fantasy was all she needed this time for her to masturbate on her bed.

 _I swear, she's going to get addicted to doing that…or maybe she is already…?_

"Uh…Sis?" I gained her attention.

"Oh hey, Chizuru. You're back." Sis said as she rolled over to sit on her bed.

 _No reaction?!_

"Did you find a good gift for Akari?"

"Uh…yeah. Sure did."

"What did you get her?"

"S-Sis. I would explain more, but I'm getting tired. I'm going to a nap on the couch."

"Why the couch?"

"Because it's comfy."

"Oh. Okay then. Enjoy your nap."

I grabbed my blanket and pillow and left our room, heading for the couch in the living room. It's a good spot to relax, be alone…

…

…and to not hear Sis's moans when she masturbates to who knows what.

 _I honestly don't want to know…_

 **A/N: Wow, this is actually the longest chapter I've written for this story. Did not think it would be this long. I'm actually worn out from it. Not sure if I could write 2 more like this. I'm actually drawing a blank for the next chapter. Going to need some time to think it over a bit. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story until then. Thanks for reading.**


	9. Exploding Reunion

**Chapter 9 – Exploding Reunion**

 **Rise's POV**

It's been a while since I've seen Akari. A couple of weeks, to be exact. I knew she came back to school a few times, but I never got the chance to talk to her because of how busy I've been at the high school. And then from what I heard from Nishigaki, the bullying she's been getting has been so bad that she's hasn't been to school for a couple of days. I've been worried about her ever since, and been feeling really bad that I haven't been checking up on my best friend this whole time. I just really hope she's okay. Because I just want to…

 **BOOM!**

 _GAH! WHAT WAS THAT?!_

I came out of my thoughts to see smoke everywhere. When it eventually cleared, I saw Nishigaki covered in ashes standing next a bunch of broken glass and there was this weird pink liquid all over the walls, along with some ashes.

 _Oh yeah. I forgot I was in the science room._

"Oh hey, Rise. Did I wake you up with that explosion?"

 _Was I sleeping this whole time?_

 _"Well yeah, kinda. I didn't know I was sleeping, to be honest."_

"Yeah, you were in a deep sleep. You even talked a bit. Kept mentioning Akari for some reason."

 _I was talking in my sleep?!_

 _"And you didn't wake me?!" I started blushing from embarrassment._

"Why would I? You looked too cute."

" _sigh._ "

Nishigaki is the science teacher here. I've know her since I've started middle school. She's also one of the only a few people that can hear what I'm saying. The people that can are her, my parents, and Akari. Sometimes Chitose, but she'll translate my words to something that wasn't even remotely close to what I said. Often times, they're perverted.

 _"What were you trying to make this time, anyway?"_ I asked.

"I forgot to bring something to drink with my lunch today, so I was making some pink lemonade."

 _"How the hell did you manage make pink lemonade explode?"_

"What can I say, Rise? It's my talent." Nishigaki said with a proud smug on her face.

 _"That's not something to be proud of. Just saying."_

We then heard footsteps coming from outside the room. They got louder until the door was flung open and standing in the entry way was Ayano in a panic state.

" **Is everyone okay here?! I heard an explosion and…** " She yelled for a bit, but then realized who was in the room at this moment and calmed down.

"Nishigaki…what exploded this time?"

"Pink lemonade."

" **H-How…W-What?! How did you make pink lemonade explode?!** "

"Rise just asked that very same question."

" _sigh._ Just please…whatever you, _**please**_ do not destroy the science room again. It's almost the end of the school year and no one's going to be around to fix it."

"Fine, fine."

With being tired from running all the way down here, Ayano sat next to me on the table I was on.

"So how was your first year of high school, Rise?" She asked me.

 _"It was fun. A bit tough, though. There's a lot more stuff to do then in middle school."_

"She said it was fun but tough. With a lot more work to do." Nishigaki translated for me.

"I see. Well, that's good to know. Puts me a little at ease for the upcoming year."

 _"Oh, yeah. You and a few of the others are starting high school soon."_

"She just remembered that you, Kyouko, Yui, Chitose, and Chizuru are starting high school after break."

"Yeah, we are. I'm excited…but I'm also worried."

"About Akari, right?"

"Yeah."

"You're not alone. Rise was talking in her sleep not too long ago, mumbling Akari's name in a cute way."

 _" **Nishigaki!** "_ I started blushing.

"Sorry, sorry."

"You haven't seen Akari since that day at the hospital, huh?" Ayano asked me.

 _"No, not really. How is she?"_

"She asked if Akari was okay."

"I'm not really sure. The last time I saw her, she was crying about how people were starting to bully her. Haven't seen her since."

 _"I see."_ I said while lowering my head.

"You really miss her, do you?"

I simply nodded my head.

"Yeah, Rise and Akari have gotten really close as friends. I think it's because very few people pay attention to them." Nishigaki explained.

"I see." Ayano went silent for a bit. "Well…hopefully it'll be okay with the others, but we're throwing a party/sleepover for Akari to celebrate her birthday. She doesn't know it yet and we've been keeping it a secret."

"Well, that's nice of you guys."

"Thanks. If you want, Rise…you can come too."

 _"C-Can I really?"_

"Why not? You get to see Akari again." Nishigaki told me.

This was true. If I do go, I'll get to see Akari again. But due to my shyness, no one but her will be able to hear me. She'll spend most the time translating me than enjoying her party. I really do miss her, though.

 _"…Okay. I'll come."_

"She said she'll go."

"That's great!" Ayano cheered.

Then her phone started ringing and she decided to answer it.

"Hello? Oh hey, Yui. What's up? She did what? **Again?!** _sigh._ Okay, I'll be right there." She then hung up the phone.

"What happened?" Nishigaki asked.

"Chitose bled out from another one of her fantasies, and now we got a room covered with blood to clean up."

"S-She still has those, huh?"

"Yeah. She does." Ayano sounded annoyed.

"I see. Well good luck with that."

"Oh, no you don't! You're coming with me, Nishigaki!"

"What? Why?"

"Because if you're there cleaning up blood, then the science room will have a chance of survival."

"B-But…"

"No buts!"

" _sigh._ Fine! I'll be right back, Rise."

 _"Have fun cleaning up blood."_ I said with a smile.

" **It's not going to be fun at all!** "

Nishigaki and Ayano then left the science room and closed the door behind them. With nothing else to do, I decided to just go back to sleep.

* * *

" _Rise…hey, Rise…Rise, wake up._ "

 _"H-Huh? Wh-What?"_

During my nap, I was shaken up by somebody who was calling my name. The voice sounded familiar, but I was too drowsy to recognize it at first. After rubbing my eyes a bit, I opened them up to someone standing in front of me. Once my vision cleared up, I was extremely happy to see who it was.

 _"Akari!"_

I shot up from the table and gave her a big hug and she did the same.

 _"You had me worried you know."_

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just been tough these past few weeks."

 _"Well, I'm just glad you're back! I really missed you."_

"I missed you too, Rise."

We starred at each other deeply and then…

…

…we kissed.

It was a deep and passionate kiss, too. One that I haven't had since before the accident. I missed this feeling of Akari's warm soft lips onto mine. It's one of the few things that make me happy.

After about 10-15 seconds, we parted our lips and starred at each other deeply once again.

 _"I love you, Akari."_

"I love you too, Rise."

There's a pretty good explanation for was just happened. You see, me and Akari have been secretly dating for the past 3 months. And next week is our anniversary, which is also the same day as Akari's birthday. We were going to do something to celebrate them both, just the two of us. But then the accident happened, and everyone wanted to help her feel better. I'm not mad or anything. In fact, I'm glad that they wanted to help. They are our friends…even though they don't know about us.

 _"Hey, did you do something to your hair?"_ I asked.

"Yeah, I got rid of those bangs. At first, it was just to put hoodies over my head. But now I seem to like this more than my old hairstyle."

 _"I see. Well, it looks cute on you."_

" ***giggle*** Thanks."

After giving each other another kiss, we held each other tightly and laid down on the table. Showing extreme appreciation for each other's presence.

It was pure silence for a good while until…

"Hey, Rise. I need to tell you something." Akari said to me.

 _"Huh? Tell me what?"_

"Well…a couple weeks ago, I ran into Chitose and Sakurako at the shopping district. I was feeling really miserable, and Sakurako wanted to cheer me up. So she took me to the arcade."

 _"Well, that was nice of her."_

"Yeah, it was. We actually had a fun time together. But then these high school boys came up and bullied me when they saw my missing. To the point where they made me cry. That's when Sakurako went to one of the boys and kicked him in the…well, _that_ place."

 _"Ouch."_ I can't even imagine what that had to feel like…mainly because I'm a girl.

"Yeah, it looked painful. Anyway, after that she took me home and as I was about to go inside, Sakurako…did and said something extreme."

 _"What did she do?"_

That's when Akari started blushing a bit while looking away from me.

 _"Akari, you can tell me. I'm your girlfriend, remember?"_

This made Akari smile a bit as she turned to face me again.

"W-Well…Sakurako…kissed me. And then she told me she loved me, ever since we first met."

…

…

 _"…W-Wow."_ Was all I could say.

"I wanted to say something, but she ran off crying before I could."

 _"Sakurako…crying?"_ Those were two words I thought I would never hear in the same sentence.

"So…what do I do, Rise? I don't want to see Sakurako sad anymore, but…I don't' feel the same way for her."

I went silent and thought to myself for a bit. This was a hard decision. For us, I mean. But…I had an idea. Not sure Akari would go with it, though.

 _"Akari…I think we should tell them. About us."_

"W-Wait, really? A-Are you sure?"

 _"Yes, I am. We can't keep lying to them anymore. It's been three months already. And now it's important because another girl has fallen in love with you."_

…

"Yeah. I guess it is."

 _Wow. She agreed with me._

"So we'll tell them all on my birthday during the party?"

 _"Huh? How do you know about the party?"_

"I was on my way to the student council room when Chitose was having another one of her fantasies. She mentioned something about me and some kind of party, and it was easy to put it all together."

 _"I see. And they worked so hard to keep it a secret, too."_

"I'll still act surprise. I've gotten real good at faking happiness lately."

 _"That's not a good thing."_

"You have any better ideas?"

I giggled and shook my head no.

"So…that night okay for you?"

 _"Yeah. That's good with me."_

"Alright. Oh! I just remembered something!"

Akari dug into her pants pocket and took out something that I easily recognized.

 _"So you got my gift, huh?"_

"When were you going to tell me you worked at the arcade?"

 _"I was going to tell you, but then that incident happened and when I was told about it the next day, I wanted to do something to make you feel better. So I asked my boss for that lifetime pass idea. Luckily, he agreed to it."_

"I see. Well, thanks for this. It really took me by surprise."

 _"You're welcome. Happy birthday, Akari."_

We hugged and gave each other one more kiss on the lips before lying down on the table together.

"By the way, why does it smell like burnt pink lemonade in here?"

 _"Who do you think?"_

We giggled at the thought and fell asleep in each other's arms. Not waking up for a good hour or two.

 _I missed this feeling. I missed it a lot._

 **A/N: Wow. I can't believe I wrote this in one day. That's a new record for me at least. Originally, this was going to be both Rise & Nishigaki's POV, which Nishigaki translating for Rise the entire chapter. But I went against it in the end.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: Rise's dialogue was smaller in word, but it doesn't show it here. Which sucks.**

 **Also, Akari X Rise needs to happen more. All these other ships are starting to get redundant.**

 **That's all I have to say. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Next chapter coming soon. Until then, thanks for reading.**


	10. Secrets & Blood

**Chapter 10 – Secrets & Blood**

 **Nishigaki's POV**

" **Seriously?! Pink lemonade?!** "

" **I didn't even know that** _ **drink**_ **can explode!** "

"It normally doesn't."

"That's our science teacher for ya. Always making the most unthinkable things explode."

" **Hey, can we quit criticizing me and hurry up with this blood cleaning?! I've got things to do!** "

"Like what? Making _more_ unusual things explode?"

" **No!**...okay, maybe."

" _sigh._ "

This was the conversation I had with the girls of the Amusement Club and the Student Council once Ayano brought me down here to the student council room, forcing me to help clean up Chitose's blood. I'm already used to it, though. (The criticizing, not the blood cleaning). I've been dealing with ever since I met the soon-to-be ex-middle school third years. Plus, it gained me a new talent: being able to make anything explode! Rise may say that such a thing isn't something to be proud of, but what does she know? She's just a 16-year-old.

"Geez, this is a lot of blood. Just what on earth were you fantasizing about, Chitose?" I asked.

"Well, it was abou…"

"Chitose… **shut up**." Ayano said.

" _Really?_ Cause it's a really good one and…"

"Chitose… **shut up.** " Himawari repeated.

"But there's this really sexy scene where…"

"Chitose… **shut. the fuck. up.** " Sakurako said.

" _Fine._ " Chitose whined.

 _Judging by what just happened, I guess I don't want to know._

"Just grab a bucket and sponge and start cleaning." Ayano said to me.

"Fine. Whatever."

I grabbed a bucket and sponge and started cleaning the multiple blood spots scattered throughout the room. Surprisingly, blood is hard to scrub off, as it took me nearly half an hour to get rid of just 2-3 spots.

" **Damn it! What's this stuff made of?!** "

"Shouldn't you know? You are a science teacher. Something like that should be common sense." Kyouko said to me.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." I said, sounding insulted.

Another half hour later and all the blood stains were gone…well, most of them. I gave up on a few of them when they were barely noticeable. I tossed the bucket and sponge at a random spot in the room and sat down in an empty chair next to me.

" _sigh._ I don't understand how one person can spurt that much blood from their nose."

"Trust me. When you're friends with someone like Chitose, you'll somehow understand." Ayano said.

"Thank god Rise isn't like that."

"Speaking of which, how's Rise doing?" Yui asked. "We haven't seen her much since she started high school."

"She's doing great. Doing a lot more work there than here. What with joining the student council there and all."

"I see."

"Does she have any new friends?" Chinastu asked.

"Well, I do see her talking to other people when she has my class. But I'm not sure if they can hear her or not."

"There's a select few that can?" Himawari asked.

"Well, I guess you can say that. The only people I know who can are me, her parents, sometimes Chitose, and Akari."

"Akari?" Everyone asked.

"How is Akari able to hear her?" Chinastu asked.

"W-Well…she just listens, that's all."

"But we talk to Rise all the time yet we can't hear a word she says." Ayano said.

"M-Maybe you're not listening closely."

"Now that I think about it, I have seen Rise and Akari together a lot lately." Chitose said.

"Yeah, me too. Even before the accident." Himawari added.

"Is _**that**_ how Akari's the only one out of all of us to understand Rise, Nishigaki?" Yui asked me.

"And how _**close**_ are these two getting anyway?!" Both Sakurako and Kyouko asked me, looking jealous as hell for some reason.

"U-Uh…w-well…"

As I rambled in my mind trying to think of a reasonable answer that they'll believe, the school bell rang, signaling that it was time for the second half of classes.

"Oh! Would you look at that! Time for class! I better get going now! Thanks for wasting my time by making me clean blood, Ayano!"

"Wh-Wha… **HEY!** "

I sprinted out the room and closed the door behind me, relieved that such a nightmare of a conversation was over with.

 _Aw, geez. I think they're starting to get suspicious. I better go tell those two._

What I successfully kept to myself a couple of seconds ago was the fact that Rise and Akari are dating, and that I'm the only person who knows about it. When they told me, they begged me to keep it a secret. As they wanted to see how long they can go without being noticed. I'm surprised they made it to three months already. That's got to be some kind of record of something. Anyway, I kept telling them that they have to tell the others eventually, and they would always say to just be patient. Well now they don't really have much time or a choice for that anymore.

I reached the science lab and opened the door to see said couple sleeping on one of the tables cuddling each other.

 _Ah, geez. Really now?_

"Hey! You guys! Wake up! Time for class!"

The two moved around a bit before waking up and noticing me standing by said table.

" _Oh. Hey, Nishigaki._ "

"Nice to see you again, Nishigaki."

"It's nice to see you again too, Akari." I said. "But hey, listen you two. You guys have to confess already. The others just hammered me down for the truth. Their starting to get suspicious."

"They are, huh? Then I guess you were right about it being time to tell them, Rise." Akari said.

"Wait, you guys already decided?"

" _Yeah. We decided to after a misunderstanding occurred._ "

"What misunderstanding?"

"W-Well…a couple weeks ago…Sakurako confessed her love for me."

" **Wh-What?! R-Really?! Sakurako?!** "

"Yeah, it took me by surprise too. I wanted to say something, but she ran off crying before I could."

"I see. So that's what made you two decide."

" _Yes. We're going to tell them on Akari's birthday. During the party._ "

"A party? And you didn't invite me, Akari?"

"Sorry, Nishigaki. I didn't know about the party until a few hours ago myself."

"Huh?"

" _It was originally a surprise for Akari, but she overheard Chitose taking about it during one of her fantasies._ "

"Oh. I see now."

 _Still doesn't explain all the blood…._

"You can come too, Nishigaki. I'm sure the others will understand." Akari said.

"Really? Well, if you insist…"

" _We know you just want to know how all this ends in every single detail, right?_ "

" **No!**...well okay, maybe."

The two girls started giggling at the fact that they knew me so well. To me, it felt kinda insulting to be outsmarted by a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old. Especially at my age.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny. Just get to class, you two."

"Alright."

" _Alright._ "

The couple kissed each other goodbye and left the science room, going in separate directions once in the hallway. I sat in my desk at the front of the room waiting for my next class to show up, when one last thought appeared in my mind.

 _Wait. I now understand why Sakurako felt jealous that time, but…why did Kyouko looked that way too?_

 _Guys, I hope you know what you're doing…_

 **A/N: Let me tell you guys, today was NOT a good morning! First off, I had to restart my computer 4 times because Google Chrome kept freezing on me! I seriously hate Chrome, but it's the only browser I have. So I'm stuck with it. Plus, I've been busy moving stuff from two small apartments into a bigger apartment…and all three of them are upstairs. And the fact that I live in Houston, TX, a city near the Gulf of Mexico, made the whole thing worse. So that explains the amount of delays I've been giving myself. Hope you guys understand.**

 **Anyway, about the story. Since Rise got her own POV, I figured Nishigaki should get one, too. The more I think about her personality, the more she reminds me of a character from the Puyo Puyo series named Risukuma. They both mainly just love making things explode, which brought this thought up.**

 **Also, made Rise's dialogue italic on this and the last chapter. It's the best I can do to imitate her whispers.**

 **That's all I have to say. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Next chapter is the final chapter…of the main story. There's going to be one more after that, but it's just extra. Until then, Thanks for reading.**


	11. Birthday Sickness

**Chapter 11 – Birthday Sickness**

 **Akane's POV**

 _So today's the day, huh? My little sister Akari's birthday. Does she even want to celebrate it today? I don't even know how she's been lately. Me and Tomoko have been so busy cramming for finals that I've completely ignored my own sister. And in such a time like this, too. I'm such a crappy sister._

…

…

 _Not to mention a creep with my obsession for her. I really need to get that cured._

"Hey, Sis."

"Huh? Oh. Morning, Akari. Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Sis. But…are you feeling okay? You were spacing out deeply a second ago."

"O-Oh, that? I-It's nothing. I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all."

"Oh. That's understandable. With you studying for finals and all."

"Y-Yeah. Th-That's it."

…

…

"Sis, I know you're lying."

"What? How am I lying?"

"Because your final was last month."

 _Damn! She figured it out!_

"Sis. What's the real reason?"

"Oh, alright. The truth is I've been awake for the past week researching all I can about depression and how to help cure it. I've gotten stuff like _go to a therapist_ and _take anti-depressants_ , but there's no way in hell I can afford that with me being a collage student. So I kept looking and looking, and got absolutely nothing! I'm so tired! I want to sleep! I really do! _B-But...I can't just...q-quit on you! I-I've haven't...done a d-damn thing...t-to help you...c-cure your depression..._ "

I then felt extremely weak and my head collapsed on the table in front of me.

" **SIS! SIS!** " I could barely hear Akari call out to me as I began to pass out on the table. My head was burning up and my body was filled with chills. I could barely move, but I did have just a smidge of energy to respond to Akari.

" _I…I just…I just…want…to…h-help…"_

"… _Akari…"_

"… _I'm…s-sorry…_ "

I then closed my eyes, using up the last of my strength to release tears of sadness, regret, and failure.

* * *

" _ ***moan***_ _wh-wha? Wh-what…h-happened? W-Why…do I feel…so weak?_ "

"Hey, you're up. Thank goodness." I barely heard a voice I recognized, but I was still able to respond to it.

" _T-Tomoko? Wh-What…what are you…doing here?_ "

"You had us worried, you know. Akari called our house crying and freaking out. Saying that you collapsed right in front of her."

" _I-I…c-collapsed? I-In…front of…A-A-Akari? I-Is she…o-okay?_ "

"Chinastu's calming her down in her room."

" _I-I…s-see…_ " I said while trying to get up.

"Hey, hey! Lay back down!"

" _B-But…A-Akari…_ "

"Akane, you have a serious case of the flu! If you don't lay here and rest, you're going to **die!** "

" _T-The…flu…? D-D…Die?_ "

"Akari told us how you've been awake for nearly a week researching depression tips for help her with. And how you called yourself a _crappy sister_."

" _B-But…i-it's…t-t-true…_ "

"Really? Cause last I checked, crappy sisters don't risk their heath for their siblings."

" _Y-Yeah…I-I guess…th-that's…t-true…_ "

We then heard a knock coming from the door. Well, I barely heard it. I'm so weak, I've gone deaf in one ear and my vison is blurry as hell.

"H-Hey, Sis? F-Feeling any better?"

I knew that voice. I knew it well. And even though I barely heard what the voice said to me, hearing it made me so happy.

" _A-Akari…?_ "

"Sorry, Sis. I tried stopping her, but she was really persistent." I barely heard Chinastu say.

"It's okay, Chinastu. I'm sure it's fine now."

"Sis, I'm so happy you're awake now! You had me really scared earlier!" Akari said to me.

" _I-I…did? S-Sorry…A-Akari. I only…want…w-w-w-wa…_ " I then felt my breathing getting short and heavy and my head was getting hotter than before as I started sweating rapidly.

"Sis?! **Sis?! Are you okay?! What's wrong?!** "

"Oh no, she's overheating! Quick, Chinastu! Get me a wet rag!" I heard Tomoko say to her sister…barely.

"Right!"

As I could barely hear footsteps running through the hall, I felt myself getting weaker again and passed out on my bed.

" **Sis?! Sis! Please! Whatever you do, PLEASE DON'T DIE ON ME!** "

These were the last words I heard from Akari before losing consciousness.

* * *

Thankfully, I didn't die. I eventually woke up again, still feeling weak all over, but my head had cooled down from last time. My vison was no longer blurry, as I was able to see Akari, Chinastu, and Tomoko clearly now.

" _ ***moan***_ _Wh-Wha…? Wh-what…happened?_ "

"You overheated and passed out again. Luckily, that wet rag I got cooled you down a bit." Chinatsu said.

"You really had us worried. You were out for nearly 2 hours." Tomoko added.

" _O-Oh…I-I s-see…_ "

"Sis…" I hear Akari call out to me. I turned to her to see that her eye was all red and puffy from all the crying she did.

 _D-Did…s-she really think…I-I…was going t-to…die?_

" _A-Akari…_ "

"Sis… **I'm so happy you're still alive! I really thought you were a goner! I don't know what I'd do if that happened!** "

" _A-Akari…I-I'm…s-sorry for…m-making…you worry. I…I-I only wanted…to help…c-cure you…_ "

"I know, and I grateful for that. But you shouldn't overwork yourself like that."

" _R-Right…s-sorry…_ "

"So you went a week without sleeping? How did you managed to do that?" Tomoko asked.

" _I-I…dr-drank that…energy drink…o-over…th-there._ " I said while trying to point to an empty bottle on my dresser. Chinastu went to go pick it up and she read the label.

"5-Hour Energy?"

" _I-It's an…e-energy drink…sold in…A-America. I-It's said to…k-keep you awake for…f-five hours…_ "

"Awake for 5 hours?! If you were awake for a week straight, then that means…"

" **You drank 35 of these things?! Akane, are you INSANE?!** " Tomoko shouted.

" _B-But…I was only…tr…trying to…h-help…_ "

" **Yeah, but drinking 35 energy drinks is not the way to do it!** "

" _I-I…know…I-I'm s-sorry…_ "

I then felt a hand holding on to my own. I recognized it as Akari's hand. Probably because of a sisterly bond of sorts. I turned my head towards her and starred into her eye. Worried of what she would say about what I did to myself.

"Sis…get some rest."

" _H-Huh…? A-Akari…?_ " The response took me by surprise.

"You need to sleep, Sis. And I'll be here to take care of you. As you did for me."

" _B-But…_ "

"It's okay, Sis. My birthday and that party will just have to wait."

"W-Wait? P-Party? A-Akari, h-how did you…" Chinastu started panicking for a bit before stopping and realized what the answer to her question could be.

"Chitose?"

"Chitose."

" _sigh._ Damn it. Might as well tell the others that you know already. And I'll say that we have to reschedule, too."

"Thanks, Chinastu."

"Hey, since we're both free, I can help you make some soup for Akane."

That's when the three of us started panicking ourselves.

"U-Uh, th-that's okay, Chinastu. I-I can do it myself."

"Oh come on! You're clearly gonna need help with you only having one eye!"

"Then I'll help you, Akari."

"Thanks, Tomoko."

"What?!" Chinastu started getting angry.

"L-Look, Chinastu. N-No offense, but if we let you cook anything for Sis, you'll probably due her in more than the energy drinks." Akari explained.

"What?! Come on! My cooking's not that bad, is it Akane?"

I didn't say anything and pretended to fall asleep, not wanting to be a part of this conversation. And even if I did, I wouldn't have the energy to do so.

"Well, maybe you can help by pouring juice or something." Tomoko said to Chinastu.

" **Pouring juice?! I'm not a 5-year-old, Sis!** "

"Well, maybe Tomoko can make the soup and you and I can peel some fruit together." Akari said.

"B-But… _aw_ , forget it." Chinastu eventually gave up and the three girls walked out my room, giving me some time to sleep off some of this flu.

I really did feel bad. Having Akari cancel her birthday plans to take care of me because of my carelessness. I made her and Tomoko & Chinastu worry, thinking that I was going to die because I drank so many of these energy drinks. I thought I was helping Akari by doing such a thing, but in the end, I only made it worse. And nearly killed myself in the process.

I need to make it up to her. I need to show Akari that I'm truly sorry for what I did, and what it almost did to me. But it can't be something short and simple. It has to be big. Exciting. Something that would nullify these horrible experiences from her memories. From now, all the way back to the day where she lost her eye.

…

 _But I can't think of such a thing right now. I'm too weak, and I need some sleep…_

 ***DISCLAIMER* PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! DO NOT DRINK 35 5-HOUR ENGERGIES IN A ROW! IT'S A STUPID IDEA AND IT WILL KILL YOU!**

 **A/N: Anyway, so sorry for the late upload. I was busy moving and it ended up taking four days to move stuff from two apartments into one. That, plus the triple-digit heat made me too tired to do anything during that time. Hope you guys understand.**

 **One more chapter to go until the end. Hopefully I'll have it uploaded by later today or tomorrow morning by the latest. It's not the end of this saga, though. Much like Akari X Rise, I've got another idea for a new ship that hopefully will catch on. Like I said before, the current ships are starting to get redundant and we need some new ones.**

 **That's all I have to say. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading.**


	12. Confessions & Self-Reflection

**Chapter 12 – Confessions & Self-Reflection**

 **Akari's POV**

It took about three days for Sis to get completely better. Chinastu and Tomoko stayed over during that time to help me out, too. We each did some kind of chore everyday (although, I made sure Chinastu didn't do anything that involved cooking. Much to her getting mad over it). Once she did fully recover, Sis wanted to make it up to me by throwing a party for my belated birthday. With cake and decorations and stuff. Thankfully, we managed to convince her to take it easy for a few extra days. Me and Chinastu were up in my room at this time, with me being on my phone texting someone. It took me a while to get used to texting with one eye, but I learned surprisingly fast.

" _Hey. Sorry about the party being canceled._ "

 ***** _ **BZZZT***_

" _It's okay. Is your sister feeling any better?_ "

" _Yeah, she's feeling much better. Chinastu and her sister came by to help out._ "

 ***** _ **BZZZT***_

" _That's good to hear. Still, though…35 energy drinks? I'm surprised she's still alive._ "

" _ **Hey!**_ "

 ***** _ **BZZZT***_

" _Sorry. I went too far._ "

" _It's okay. So, see you tonight?_ "

 ***** _ **BZZZT***_

" _Yeah. I'll be there._ "

" _Okay. Love you._ "

 ***** _ **BZZZT***_

" _Love you too._ "

"You love someone, Akari?!"

" **GAH!** "

I turned to see Chinastu hovering over me, looking at my phone.

" **Chinastu! Were you reading my text messages?!** "

"No! Of course not!...okay maybe a little."

"Geez. The one thing I miss about not having a presence."

"I'm sorry, okay? I was just curious. You were texting this person for a long time and were even smiling."

"I-I was?" I started blushing.

" _Yeah…you were…_ " Chinastu teased.

"W-Well…yes. I do love someone. And that someone loves me, too."

"So you finally talked with Sakurako?"

"U-Um, w-well…hey wait! How do you know about that?!"

"Himawari kinda forced it out of her one day. We were all there, too."

"I-I see. Well…it's not Sakurako."

"It's not?"

"No. In fact, I haven't seen Sakurako since she confessed to me that night. I've been meaning to tell her… that I don't feel the same way for her."

"That's going to break her heart, Akari."

"I know, but I can't keep lying to any of you guys anymore. It'll only make it worse."

"Yeah, that's true."

"So hopefully, she and the others will come over tonight. So that we can both tell you guys together."

"I see. That's sounds like a good idea, Akari."

"Thanks, Chinastu." I said with a smile.

…

…

"So what's this guy like, huh?"

" **Geez, you can't wait another 4 hours?!** "

"No, I can't wait another 4 hours! Especially since my best friend has a boyfriend!"

"…G-Girl." I started blushing again.

"Huh?"

"G-Girlfriend. I'm dating a girl."

"Oh my god… **THAT'S EVEN BETTER!** "

"Huh? How is it better?" I was confused.

"Akari…haven't you noticed? All of us are gay."

"R-Really? Everyone?"

"Yeah, everyone. I mean, why do you think this thing's called Yuru Yuri?"

…

I stopped and thinked about this mind-blowing fact for a second.

…

"Holy crap! It all makes sense now!"

"Right? I mean why else would we have that ridiculous name?"

"Yeah, it is kinda ridiculous. I couldn't even pronounce it when I first saw it."

"No one could. I don't know how we got such a tongue twister of a name."

"Well, we can't do anything about it now. We've stopped airing."

"Yeah. Which sucks. Why couldn't we be as long as those other anime?"

"Well, at least we got three seasons. Most anime nowadays can't really say that."

"Yeah, true."

We then heard a knock on my door, which ended our fourth-wall breaking conversation.

"Hey, guys. Can you help me with something real quick?"

"Sure thing, Sis." Chinastu answered Tomoko.

We then got up from the floor and exited my room, with me closing the door behind me once we were in the hallway.

"Hey, Akari. Did you change your hairstyle?" Chinastu asked me.

"Yeah, I did. It used to be so I can wear those hoodies, but now I kinda like it this way."

"Yeah, me too. With that hairstyle and your one eye, you look like a total badass!"

"Uh…I won't necessary call myself a _badass_."

"Well, how about _cool_ then?"

" _Cool_ I can do. That's simple enough."

" ***giggle*** I'm glad you're feeling somewhat better, Akari. I missed this side of you."

"Thanks, Chinastu."

We both went downstairs to help out Tomoko with the thing she was doing.

* * *

Hours later, we were both in the living room waiting for the others to show up. While doing so, we talked a little bit about more random stuff that I can't even remember. Although I did remember one thing we talked about…

"Hey, Akari. Do you think I should change my hairstyle, too?" Chinastu asked me.

"I don't know, Chinastu. Do you want to?"

"Well…I am getting tired of these ponytails. Maybe I could let it down."

"I wouldn't mind seeing that."

"Really? Okay then."

Chinastu then started to undo the ponytails in her hair then shook her head to release it. Revealing the fact that she has some pretty long hair. Almost as long as Kyouko's.

"Well?" She asked.

"W-Wow. Chinastu…you look really pretty with your hair down."

"D-Do I really?" Chinastu starting blushing deeply.

"Yeah. Like a whole new person."

"Th-Thanks, Akari. I guess I'll keep it like this then."

I then started laughing a bit to myself. I tried to hide it, but Chinastu noticed it.

"What?"

"It's just so funny. Seeing you so embarrassed like this."

"Sh-Shut up!"

That's when we heard a knock at the door and I went up to answer it, still laughing a bit from Chinastu's embarrassed look.

"Hello, Akari. Nice to see you again."

"Hi, Yui. Good to see you, too."

" **AKARI!** " I then got charged at and fell to the ground. When I opened my eye, I saw Kyouko on top of me. Looking really happy to see me.

"H-Hey, Kyouko. Long time no see."

" **Oh, Akari! I've missed you SO MUCH! I was so worried about you I couldn't for a bit, and…** "

" **WILL YOU GET OFF HER ALREADY?!** " Ayano shouted as she pulled Kyouko off me.

"You okay, Akari?" Yui asked as she pulled me up.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"S-Sorry, Akari. I was just so happy to see you again after so long, I got too excited. My therapist says I need to control myself." Kyouko explained to me.

"I see…wait, therapist?!"

"Yeah. After the whole accident thing, I decided to go do some therapy for a while. So far, it's working. But I still have lots to fix."

"W-Wow. Th-That's impressive, Kyouko."

"I know, right? Took all of us by surprise when we found out." Ayano said.

"A-And, uh…Akari? D-Do you think we could talk for a bit later? I-It's really important." Kyouko asked me while stuttering. Which was weird to me, because I've **NEVER** seen Kyouko stutter her words.

"Uh…sure, Kyouko. We can do that."

"A-Akari…"

I looked over to see Sakurako walking towards us. As she stood next to Kyouko, I felt a dark tension around the area. And it kinda scared me a little.

"H-Hey there, Sakurako. N-Nice to see you." I said, trying to ease up said dark tension.

"H-Hey, Akari. C-Can _**we**_ talk for a bit? L-Like right now?" Sakurako asked, also while stuttering.

"R-Right now? Um, well…"

" **HEY! GET IN LINE, YOU! I WAS HERE FIRST!** "

" **AS IF! I'M GOING TO BE THE ONE TO TALK TO AKARI!** "

" **OVER MY DEAD BODY, YOU LITTLE RUNT!** "

"Uh, guys…" I tried getting their attention, but failed.

" **I CAN MAKE THE** _ **DEAD BODY**_ **PART HAPPEN RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!** " Sakurako shouted as she raised her sleeve up.

" **WELL SO CAN I!** " Kyouko shouted while doing the same.

"G-Guys…" I tried again, getting the same result.

 _This is starting to remind me of my old life…_

" **YOU WANNA GO, BLONDIE?!** "

" **HELL YEAH, I WANNA GO! I'LL WRECK YOU GOOD, BLONDIE!** "

 _Do they realize that they both have blonde hair?_

"Will you two **KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY?!** " Himawari shouted as she came inside. Her little sister Kaede was standing behind her. " **This is no time to be fighting!** "

Both girls looked at each other with apologetic looks on their faces and then turned to face me.

"S-Sorry, Akari." They both said.

"I-It's okay, you guys." I answered, still a little scared.

" _Aw!_ Why you'd had to ruin it, Himawari?" Chitose whined. "They were getting close to making out heavily and being naked on the floor!"

The rest of us just looked at Chitose with looks of disturbed, annoyed, and just straight up _'what the hell?'_.

"Sis. Please. Not tonight." Chizuru said with her hand on her twin sister's shoulder.

"Yeah, Chitose. I'm not in the mood to clean your blood again." Nishigaki said as she and Rise came inside.

"Fine, fine."

"This happens a lot?" Kaede asked Chizuru.

"Yeah, unfortunately." She said with an added sigh.

"So that's everyone, right?" Ayano asked.

"Wait, Chinatsu's not here yet." Yui said.

"Yeah I am. I'm right here." Chinastu said.

"W-Woah, Chinastu. I almost didn't recognized you with your hair down."

"Yeah, it's like you're a completely different person." Ayano said.

"Come to think of it, both you _**and**_ Akari have different hairstyles." Himawari pointed out."

"Looks way better than those weird-looking ponytails you had earlier." Nishigaki added.

"Gee thanks, Nishigaki." Chinastu replied, sounding insulted.

* * *

As we made our way to the living room, Sis and Tomoko were already waiting for us. So that made it easier on me a little. Once everyone was seated, I was about to start talking when…

"Uh…hey, Akari. Before we start, can I tell you something?" Kyouko asked me.

"Didn't you say later, Kyouko?"

"Yeah, she did. So just shut up and listen already!" Sakurako yelled at her.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Kyouko yelled back. "Anyway, I know I said later, but what needs to be said can't wait much longer." Kyouko's face started turning red like she was embarrassed of something.

"W-Wait, Kyouko! Are you really going to do this?!" Himawari asked.

"Yeah. I am. Thanks for keeping this a secret this whole time, Himawari."

"Huh? Keep what a secret?" Sakurako asked.

Kyouko took a few deep breaths before continuing to talk to everyone.

"Akari…I just want to say…I love you."

…

" **WHAT?!** " We all shouted (Expect Himawari, who apparently knew about this).

"That's right! I admit it! I love you, Akari! And I want you to be with me! Not with someone like Sakurako!"

"And just what do you mean by _**that**_ , huh?!" Sakurako asked.

"You know **EXACTLY** what I mean by that!"

" _Why you little…_ "

" **GUYS! PLEASE! LET ME SAY SOMETHING!** " I shouted, getting everyone's attention. One I did and everyone was quiet again, I finally started explaining everything.

"Look…this isn't an easy thing to say. I appreciate both of your love confessions, but…you guys should know…there's someone else."

And just as I thought, Kyouko and Sakurako's faces were almost teary-eyed. Seeing that hit me in the gut hard, but I knew I had to continue.

" _Th-There's…someone else?_ " Sakurako asked in a weak voice.

" _W-Who is it?_ " Kyouko asked in the same tone.

At some point, Rise was behind me and she grabbed my hand. I turned to her with a worried look on my face, but all she did was smile.

" _It's okay, Akari. I'm right here with you._ "

That made me smile a bit as I turned back towards everyone else.

" _W-Wait…s-so it's…_ " Kyouko said.

"Yeah. Rise is my girlfriend."

The room went silent for a bit. I really didn't…

" **I KNEW IT! YOU DO SWING THAT WAY!** " Chitose shouted out of nowhere.

" **Shut up, Chitose!** " Ayano shouted at her.

…

…Anyway, I really didn't know how these two reacted. I started thinking that they hated me and Rise now. It would hurt badly if that was the case.

"H-How long…have you two been dating?" Sakurako asked.

"Three months."

"I-I see…"

" _I'm truly sorry you guys had to find out this way._ "

"Rise said she's truly sorry you guys had to find out this way."

"D-Do you guys…l-love each other?" Kyouko asked.

"Yeah. We do. Very much."

…

The two looked at each other with still sad looks, but they looked more like acceptance sadness than regular sadness.

…

"Then I'm okay with it."

"Me too." Sakurako added.

"R-Really? You guys are okay with this?"

"Yeah. We are. As long as you're happy, Akari. That's all we really wanted." Kyouko said.

"Although it will take us a while to get over our feelings for you." Sakurako said.

"I see. I'm sorry for making you guys feel rejected."

"It's okay, Akari. Really, it is."

"We'll find other people to love. It's not your fault."

"O-Okay then. If you guys say so." I finally accepted it.

"So three months, huh? Did you guys celebrate your anniversary yet?" Yui asked.

"It was actually three days ago. We were going to go on a trip then, but me losing an eye kinda ruined that idea."

"I see."

"Wait, wasn't three days ago your birthday, Akari?" Himawari asked.

"Yeah, it was. Which made it a perfect time. But the party you guys were going to throw me would've been good."

"Too bad Chitose ruined the surprise." Sakurako said.

"I said I was sorry." Chitose said. "And besides, that fantasy I was having was really sexy and erotic. It was about this trip to…"

Chizuru then placed a piece of duct tape over her sister's mouth.

"Thank you for that, Chizuru." Ayano said.

"No problem. I keep it with me when we go out for times like this."

"That's…sad." Chinastu said.

"But surprisingly useful." Kaede added.

"Yeah, but I feel like I need stronger tape."

"You could try Gorilla Tape. It's really strong and unbreakable." Sis suggested.

"If it's from America, then don't even bother with it." Tomoko said.

"B-But it actually works. It won't kill people… _maybe._ " Sis whispered the last part.

"I heard that."

"Damn it!"

"Oh yeah. Didn't you say that Akane got sick during that time?" Kyouko asked.

"Yeah, she did. She had a really high fever and could barely talk or move."

"That's when we found out that she drank 35 energy drinks that were made in America." Chinastu added.

" **35?! That's insane!** "

"Yeah. Took us by surprise, too."

" _Hey, Nishigaki. So which is worse: Death by 35 energy drinks or death by exploding pink-lemonade?_ " Rise asked.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because doing something with 35 energy drinks sounds like something you would do." I said.

"No I wouldn't!...okay maybe I would."

"See?"

"Alright, I get it."

"Okay seriously. You've got to tell us how both of you are able to hear what Rise is saying." Chinastu said to me.

"Is it like some kinda of trick or something?" Kyouko asked.

"We just listen to her." Nishigaki said.

"Come on. That can't be it." Yui said.

"It is it. If you're that wanting to know, I could help you guys." I said.

"That would help a lot, Akari. Thank you." Ayano said.

"No problem."

"Well with that out of the way, **LET'S PARTY!** " Sakurako shouted.

"Huh. You recovered quickly." Himawari said.

"Well, I can't be sad forever."

"Fair enough."

"So…"

" **LET'S PARTY!** " This time, both Sakurako and Kyouko shouted.

* * *

The party was fun. I really enjoyed being around all my friends, my sister, and my girlfriend. I can't really say I'm completely cured of my depression, but I can say I'm happier now than when I was a couple of weeks ago. I wish I didn't lose an eye for all this to happen, but I guess it's one of those "eye for an eye" things Mom kept talking about. I didn't really get those at first, or ever thought they would happen in real life, but now it makes a lot of sense. Because ever since then, my life has changed. Most of it for the worse, but thanks to my friends, my sister, and my girlfriend, I was able to realize that I do have people who care. Who pay attention and listen to me. Some even love me. It feels…really nice…to be treated this way. Like I've been reborn or something. I've haven't been noticed like this in a long time.

 _Maybe I had a bigger presence that I thought…_

I left that thought in my mind as I drifted to sleep. Ready to start enjoying life again, since…who knows how long.

 **A/N: Well, here it is. The final chapter. I really had fun writing this story. And I'm glad so many of you guys liked it so much. This story is actually my second-most viewed with over 1,700, and by far my most successful. 10 favorites and 10 followers! That's a new record for me, and I've only been here since February! I do plan on writing more for this series, so look out for those. Thank you guys so much for reading. See you next time!**


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